What is a healthy fat?

Did you know that a mother’s milk contains one of the highest levels of cholesterol than any other consumed product? Over 50 percent of the calories in breastmilk is fat, mostly saturated fat. cholesterol and saturated fat are very important in a child’s growth development especially when it comes to the brain. A study on low fat diets in children was done with failure to thrive results. Fat is healthy for kids. Is it healthy for adults too?

An evaluation was done between northern and southern India. Northern India eats 17 times more animal fat however their risk of coronary heart disease is 7 times lower than the southern population of India. The Masai tribe and other African tribes consume mainly milk blood and beef and heart disease is unheard of and their cholesterol levels low. Eskimos consume a large amount of animal fats from fish and marine animals. They don’t have diseases and are very healthy people.

The Japanese hold the title of longest lifespan in the world. They consume very little dairy fat but eat moderate levels of animal fats in eggs, pork, chicken, beef, seafood and organ meats. They absolutely love and consume large amounts of shellfish or fish broth which is high in cholesterol. It is interesting to note that they do not eat a lot of vegetable oil, white flour or processed food. With an increase in animal fat and protein in their diet after World War II their life span increased too. This leads us to the question are vegetable oils good for us?

All fats (animal and vegetable) are a combination of saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid and polyunsaturated linoleic and linolenic acid. Without diving into the intricacies of Saturated and Monosaturated fats. Lets talk about Polyunsaturated fats. These fatty acids have a bend or curve in their form and do not pack together easily. This means they remain liquid with refrigeration. Because the end electrons do not pair up to create double bonds these oils are highly reactive. They go rancid easily. These oils should never be heated or used in cooking.

Animal fats like butter, lard and tallow have about 40-60% saturated fat and are solid at room temperature. Vegetable oils from northern regions have a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and are liquid at room temperature. Vegetable oils from the tropics like coconut oil have high levels of saturates and are solid at room temperature in the northern climates (Coconut oil is 92% saturated). Genuine olive oil will become solid if refrigerated.

Today most diets in the western world contain polyunsaturated calories as high as 30 percent in the form of vegetable oils sourced from soy, corn, safflower and canola. A healthy intake would be about 4 percent of our caloric total deriving from legumes, grains, nuts, green vegetables, fish, olive oil and animal fats. Polyunsaturates become oxidized or rancid when exposed to heat, oxygen or moisture. It takes on the nature of a free radical which attack cell membranes and red blood cells. They damage DNA/RNA strands that cause tissue mutations setting the stage for tumor formation. Free radical attacks on the skin result in wrinkles and faster aging and attacks in the blood vessels create plaque accumulation.

I love using lard to fry food knowing how much healthier it is for you. The above picture is my homemade butter. I started making my own this winter with my extra cream. It’s so smooth. Very delicious.

Nutrition facts taken from “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon