Our society has been conditioned into a hysteric state of lipophobia. What is this terrible mental illness you ask?
It’s the fear of eating fat.
A tremendous effort has been played out (partly for economic gain, and partly out of ignorance) to scare the public away from fat consumption. We’ve all seen the food pyramids from our youths where that tiny fats section is right at the very top. Heaven help you if you even touched fat, and that’s been the paradigm for around 50 years. Fortunately in recent years, the veil has been lifted and the truth is coming out.
The fact is that dietary fat plays a critical role in our body’s functions. So critical in fact, that we would certainly perish without it… fast!
Prepare to have your low-carb noodle blown, because we’re going to explain why a high fat diet aids:
Let’s start though, with the most confusing point when it comes to the consumption of fat.
You are (not exactly) what you eat
There’s a big misconception that if you eat a high fat diet, the food you eat will somehow bypass your entire digestive & metabolic system and be packed directly onto your hips.
But the reality is that our body digests whole foods into tiny absorbable particles where a number of complex biochemical reactions take place. One of these absorbable particles is a fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA has potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer properties and even helps you burn fat (1,2).
How is that so? It increases your body’s ability to transport glucose into the cell instead of being stored as fat. It also helps mobilise already stored fat to be used as energy for physical exercise and mental tasks alike (1).
The more we fuel our body with fat and restrict carbohydrates, the more our body becomes adapted to using fat as an energy source.
A meal consisting of fat and protein increases the hormone leptin that tells your brain you are full(3). Satiation is an incredibly important factor in fat loss as the delicate hormone balance of leptin and ghrelin can become disorientated to lead us to the over-consumption of unhealthy foods. I remember my final day of hiking the Inca Trail in Peru. At 3 in the morning we were fed the Breakfast of Champions: White bread with strawberry jam! Within 15 minutes of setting off, I was about to eat the arm of the unfortunate backpacker next to me. Luckily, I managed to curb my hypoglycemic dizzy spells and make it to Macchu Picchu.
The 5th Element heart healthy approval
One of the most frustrating things we hear is that avocados are bad because they contain too much fat. True, avocados do contain a high amount of fat, but along with it’s other fatty delicious health food counterparts, it’s incredibly nutrient dense.
The type of fats in avocados, olives, coconut, butter, ghee, and many other ‘super fat’ foods don’t actually deposit triglycerides (fat) into our cells or bloodstream; in fact, they decrease serum triglyceride levels as well as the likelihood of cardiovascular disease (such as oleic acid found abundantly in olive oil and lard)(4).
But fat clogs my arteries!
The myth that all saturated fats raise cholesterol came from early studies that didn’t distinguish between saturated and trans fats (5). When you see a solid block of saturated fat you would assume that it looks the same in your arteries.
Not true! Your body doesn’t simply shuttle a block of butter straight from the fridge to your heart, Homer Simpson style. Better yet, stearic acid, the most abundant fatty acid in butter is the preferred source of fuel for your heart (6).
What has been shown to actually clog your arteries is high levels of inflammation in the body as well as high levels of circulating blood triglycerides. Contrary to what you may think, a high fat diet does not raise blood triglycerides (if done correctly). In fact, high triglycerides are more closely correlated with a high consumption of processed foods and simple sugars (7).
There are certainly some fats that you should avoid like the plague (5). These are:
- Trans-fatty acids that appear in heavily processed and fried foods
- Hydrogenated fats such as margarine (to make a normally liquid and perishable fat more shelf-stable, they add hydrogen to the polyunsaturated fatty acid chain)
- Most shelf-stable cooking oils (e.g. safflower, canola, corn oil, etc.) contain high levels of pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids such as omega 6’s.
Better fat, better cells
Our cellular membranes are made up of something called a phospholipid, which is a phosphate head supporting a lipid bilayer tail. In English, this means the main component of our membranes is fat. So it’s no surprise then that when we become fat-phobic we severely damage our cell’s important casing.
This has implications for every function of our body, from cognitive performance to youthful looking skin; plainly, a fat restricted diet is not a good idea.
Fat-soluble nutrients are a very important consideration of a high fat diet (8). These nutrients dissolve in, and are only absorbed through lipid molecules. The shuttle bus of most nutrients including the water-soluble B vitamin group is called coenzyme Q10. CoQ10 is also fat-soluble, thereby making most nutrients requiring fat to be absorbed properly. Vitamins A, D, E & K are all fat-soluble and the importance of these essential vitamins in almost every biological function in your body cannot be overstated. Despite what some experts might say, there is absolutely an epidemic of deficiencies of these aforementioned vitamins in the Western World. This has a downstream effect on our guts, heart and brain.
It’s worth noting that choosing fats and oils from cold-pressed organic sources is best, and if it involves animals, make sure it is grass-fed. Better fat to better health.
No, our brain does not need glucose for fuel
A hypothesis in primatological history suggests that our hominin ancestor’s brain massively increased in size at around the time we began eating meat some 200,000 years ago. This is suggested by a change in tooth structure and fossil evidence of stone tools & cut marked bones.
An increase in meat consumption often correlates with an increase in fat and total caloric intake. Our brain, which is made up of cholesterol itself, uses 20% of our body’s total energy to function, so those added calories would have definitely assisted us in creating shelters and finding food. The insulation sheath covering our nerves, called myelin, is also made up of fat. With better myelin sheaths, we can make better decisions faster, due to efficient synaptic development.
Additionally, fats and proteins are the main stimulants of our nervous system’s chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters. A breakfast of meat and nuts can raise the levels of excitatory neurotransmitters of dopamine and acetylcholine, giving us energy to start the day right (9). This is why a high fat diet with restricted carbohydrate intake has been shown to improve mood, cognitive performance and mental health (9).
Butt… Butt… Butyrate!
Did you know that butter, provided it is from organic, grass-fed sources is now being regarded as a superfood? Apart from CLA’s effect on cancer, fat loss and inflammation we spoke about earlier, butter also contains another fatty acid- Butyric acid. This short-chain fatty acid is most easily found in butter- and your large intestine.
The bacteria in your colon, specifically Clostridium butyricum species, assist in the production of butyrate to further feed & repopulate good gut bacteria, boost immunity, improve digestion & nutrient absorption, regulate bowel movements, heal the lining of the intestinal wall and other vital functions (6).
So get more grass-fed butter on your plate, as we continue to uncover the amazing benefits of this incredible age-old superfood.
A fatty detox
The last point we will cover is one of the most confusing topics for the health and wellness readers: detoxification
You may know that the liver and gallbladder are the main detoxifiers of the body. But you may be less familiar with the idea that fat is a functional component of these two organs.
When we consume fats or oils, the liver and gallbladder work to produce bile (a fat emulsifier) to allow proper digestion.
This stimulates peristalsis (movement) of the gut to aid in the elimination of stool and the associated toxins (10). Make sure to include plenty of vegetables and fibre when transitioning to a high fat diet as unexpected stops to the bathroom may become a little inconvenient (don’t ask).
We hope this article has helped you become more aware of why you shouldn’t fear fat. A high fat diet is a delicious and sustainable transition into better health. You can now look forward to feeling unstoppable, to turn yourself into a fat burning machine by consuming more fats. Stick to the types we mentioned in this article and be on your way to better mood, energy & performance and live your days with vitality.
And as always, if you have any questions about your diet, or any other part of your path to wellness, please do ask us, we’ll be glad to help!
Further Reading:
Poliquin, C. (2014). Butter Up for Health: http://www.strengthsensei.com/butter-up-for-health/
Mohammadzadeh, M. Faramarzi, E. Mahdavi, R. Nasirimotlagh, B. Jafarabadi, M.A. (2013). Effect of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation on inflammatory factors and matrix metalloproteinase enzymes in rectal cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy. Integrative Cancer Therapies 12(6) 496–502. DOI: 10.1177/1534735413485417
Heshka, J.T. Jones, P.J.H. (2001). A role for dietary fat in leptin receptor, OB-Rb, function. Life Sciences: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024320501012012
Haeiwa, H. Fujita, T. Oleic acid promotes adaptability against oxidative stress in 3T3-L1 cells through lipohormesis. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24234346
Andrews, R. All about healthy fats. Precision Nutrition: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-healthy-fats
Douillard, J. (2014). Why our bodies love butter & ghee. Elephant Journal: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/03/why-our-bodies-love-butter-ghee/
Hulbert, A.J. Turner, N. Storlien, L.H. Else, P.L. (2005). Dietary fats and membrane function: implications for metabolism and disease. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15727042
St-Onge, M.P. et al. (2014). Impact of medium and long chain triglycerides consumption on appetite and food intake in overweight men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25074387
Poliquin, C. (2014). The rotating meat and nuts breakfast for optimal body composition: http://www.strengthsensei.com/the-meat-and-nut-breakfast/
Erasmus, U. (1993). Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill. Alive Books: Summertown, Tennessee.
Noakes, T.D. Low-carbohydrate and high-fat intake can manage obesity and associated conditions: occasional survey. South African Medical Journal: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24148165[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
