Which fats are good?

In this day and age, the mention of fat causes people to squirm. So many people have become so scared of fat, that despite the rotund gut they display, their diets are severely lacking in the fats necessary for good health. We've been sold this bill of goods that eating fat makes us fat, and despite nearly starving ourselves of fat, the rising rate of obesity should have been a clue decades ago that this theory was largely wrong.

While nutritionists and dietitians largely agree that fried foods are bad for you, we have spent the last six decades avoiding the wrong fats and therefore, getting fatter. Fat does make a difference in our health, as fats affect nearly every organ in the body. So how do we sort through all the hoopla about fats and get down to what we do need and don't?

First of all saturated vs. unsaturated vs. polyunsaturated fats mean nothing any more. Turns out that that was where we got side-tracked. While it is generally recognized that margarine is horrible, the vegetable oils that we got derailed onto are quite problematic in the body as well. The problem is that polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and oxidize easily in the body interfering with the anti-inflammatory and pain mechanisms, predisposing the body to cell mutations that can clog arteries, or if incorporated into skin cells, contribute to skin cancer.

The chemicals used to process vegetable oils are disruptive to the body. Most vegetable oils go through an amazing process compared to butter. Butter is simple: Skim the cream off the top of good, fresh milk, throw it in a jar (or blender), shake (whiz) it up, squeeze the excess water out, add some salt and you have butter! Vegetable oil is chemically extracted, then degummed, refined with acid, pre-bleached, heated to extreme temperatures, hydrogenated, bleached again, fractionated, emulsified, esterfied, deodorized, winterized, de-waxed, plasticized and then preservatives may also be added. This is healthy?

We are rethinking this whole saturated/polyunsaturated fat theory. The journal Epidemiology published a study called, "Margarine Intake and Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease in Men." Authors of the study followed participants of the Framingham Heart Study for 20 years and recorded their incidence of heart attack. The participants ate either butter or margarine. They discovered that as margarine consumption increased, heart attacks went up. As butter consumption increased, heart attacks declined. They also discovered that during the first 10 years of the study, that margarine consumption didn't seem to affect heart attack incidents. But, during the second 10 years, the group eating margarine had 77 percent more heart attacks than the group eating butter!

There is much to learn about fats and their effect on the body. Learn more by attending our upcoming health class, "Good Fats, Bad Fats, Fat Phobia," at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. Fee: $10. RSVP: (208) 765-1994.

Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with more than 32 years of experience. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health-care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d'Alene clinic. Visit Carling's website at www.vitalhealthandfitness.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.