Understanding Fats-- Where Do We Start?

[Guest guest]

" JoAnn Guest " <angelprincessjo

Fri May 23, 2003 4:13 pm

Understanding Fats- Where do we start?

 

1. Understanding Fats

Where do we start?

 

To understand how fats affect health, we must begin by realizing that

there are two opposite stories about fats. There are fats that kill,

which we should avoid. And there are fats that heal that we must

obtain from our food.

 

 

 

Much has been said about the fats that kill. They are associated with

deaths from cardiovascular disease (43%), cancer (23%), diabetes

(2%), and other degenerative diseases that kill 68% of Western

populations. Only a 100 years ago, this was rare indicating that

these deaths are from diseases of lifestyle, not genetics.

 

 

 

The problem with our focus on the killer fats is that it is an

inadequate focus. If we were to remove all bad fats from our diet,

and do it perfectly (100%) we would still die if we did not bring in

and optimize the fats that heal.

 

This is because we cannot live without the fats that heal, and

removing the bad fats makes no guarantee of obtaining the good ones.

 

 

 

The story of the fats that heal, the good fats, the essential fatty

acids is therefore the more interesting and important story by far.

To bring the neglected good fats into our diet, we must identify

their sources, their functions, and the signs of their deficiency.

 

 

 

What are the good (essential) fats?

 

Certain fats are defined as 'essential' because:

 

The body cannot make them;

They are required for normal cell, tissue, gland, and organ function,

for health, and for life;

They must be provided from outside the body, through food or

supplements;

They can come only from fats (hence fat-free diets cannot supply

them);

Their absence from the diet will eventually kill;

Deficiency results in progressive deterioration unto death;

Return of essential fats to a deficient diet reverses the symptoms of

deficiency and results in a return to health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the above definition of essential, there are only two

essential fats (technically called essential fatty acids or EFAs).

One is the omega 3 (n-3) EFA, called alpha-linolenic acid. The other,

the omega 6 (n-6) EFA, is known as linoleic acid.

 

 

 

The body converts the n-3 and n-6 EFAs into several n-3 and n-6

derivatives with important functions in the body. The best known

derivatives of n-3 are EPA and DHA, which are made by the body and

are also found in high fat, cold water fish. DHA is the major brain n-

3. Derivatives of n-6 include GLA (found in evening primrose oil),

DGLA (found in mother's milk), and AA (found in meat, eggs, and dairy

products, as well as in fish). AA is the major brain n-6.

 

 

 

From the n-3 derivative called EPA, the body makes hormone-like

series 3 eicosanoids, and from two n-6 derivatives called DGLA and

AA, the body makes hormone-like series 1 and series 2 eicosanoids,

respectively. Eicosanoids regulate many functions in all tissues on a

moment-to-moment basis, from conception until death. A more

comprehensive look at EFAs, derivatives, and eicosanoids is found on

page 20 of Fats That Heal Fats That Kill.

 

 

What are bad (toxic) fats?

 

Most of the health problems usually blamed on fats should be blamed

on the destructive processing of fats, normally used to obtain longer

shelf life and greater convenience for manufacturers and consumers.

 

EFAs are sensitive to destruction by light, air (oxygen), and heat.

These three destructive influences produce molecules that have been

changed from natural and healthy to unnatural and toxic.

 

 

 

Light produces thousands of free radicals in oils, and leads to

random changes in oil molecules. Exposure of oil to air or oxygen

produces oxidation and rancidity with its unpleasant odor. Heat

speeds the damage done by light and oxygen, and at high temperatures,

does it own unique kinds of damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of their sensitivity, EFAs need to be pressed, filtered,

packaged, stored and used with care. They need protection from light,

air, and heat. If this protection is not given, EFAs and the oils

containing them cannot retain the health benefits that they confer

when treated with care.

 

 

 

EFA-rich oils should be made with health in mind, rather than for

long shelf life. When this care is not taken, oils and EFAs are

damaged, and then they damage our health.

 

 

 

What are the functions of essential fats?

 

Essential fats have many functions throughout the body. They are

involved in:

 

 

 

Energy production. In a study with athletes in Denmark, we showed

that within one month of giving athletes one tablespoon per 50 pounds

of body weight per day of an oil blend with an n-3: n-6 ratio of 2:1,

stamina increased by up to 40 or even 60%. Athletes could exercise

longer before reaching exhaustion, recovered more quickly from

fatigue, could exercise more often without over-training, healed

quicker from injuries, built muscle faster, and had less joint pain.

Energy improvement is also seen in non-athletes and older people. The

EFA blend also improves mental stamina.

 

 

 

Brain Function. In our work with the blended oil, we have seen

consistent improvements in brain function, and research with EFAs

from other sources has also shown brain benefits. Among these are

elevated mood, lifted depression, increased calmness, better handling

of stress, less hyperactivity, better focus, better mental

processing, faster learning, increased intelligence, better

concentration, and improved motor coordination.

 

 

Among the mentally ill, EFAs can decrease hallucinations in

schizophrenics, elevate mood, lift depression, improve symptoms in

bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and improve brain function

in Alzheimer's disease and autism.

 

 

 

EFAs are also required for vision.

 

Cancer. N-3 EFAs lower cancer risk.

 

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). N-3 can decrease most CVD risk factors,

including high triglycerides (blood fats), blood pressure, platelet

stickiness, fibrinogen, and lipoprotein(a). N-3 also keep the inside

of our arteries smooth. N-3 and n-6 keep the heart beat regular.

 

 

 

 

 

Diabetes. EFAs are required for insulin function. N-3 make diabetics

more insulin-sensitive.

 

 

 

 

Weight Management. N-6 slightly and n-3 more effectively help reduce

fat production in the body. They also increase fat burning and heat

production in the body, and shift the body from burning glucose to

burning fats. Saturated, monounsaturated, and trans- fatty acids do

not help to manage weight. Sugar triggers increased fat production in

the body. Starch can also lead to overweight.

 

 

 

 

Digestion. EFAs improve gut integrity, decrease gut inflammation, and

decrease 'leaky gut' that can lead to allergies.

 

 

 

 

Allergies. EFAs reduce symptoms of allergies. They work best if

digestive enzymes rich in protein-digesting protease are also used.

 

 

 

 

Inflammation. N-3 reduce inflammation. Digestive enzymes are also

helpful.

 

 

 

 

Autoimmune Conditions. N-3 dampen the over-response of the immune

system in autoimmune conditions. Again, enzymes are also helpful.

 

 

 

 

Injury. EFAs speed the healing of injuries.

 

 

 

 

Bone Minerals. N-3 improve bone mineral retention, thereby inhibiting

the development of osteoporosis.

 

 

 

 

Stress. EFAs, by optimizing serotonin production, improve response to

stress. People report feeling calmer, getting stressed less easily,

dealing with stressful situations more calmly, and losing their

temper less often.

 

 

 

 

Sleep. EFAs improve sleep in some people.

 

 

 

 

Hormones. EFAs improve hormone functions. Hormone levels may

decrease, yet the effects of hormones remain normal. EFAs thereby

ease the work load of glands.

 

 

 

 

Organs. EFAs are required for liver and kidney function.

 

 

 

 

Reproduction. EFAs are required for sperm formation, the female

cycle, and pregnancy.

 

 

 

What happens when we don't get enough good fats?

 

The short answer is: Every part of the body gradually deteriorates

and falls apart. No cell, tissue, gland, or organ can function

normally without them. Here is a longer list:

Dry skin

Constipation

Low energy levels

Brittle hair and hair loss

Poor nail growth

Deterioration of liver and kidneys

Behavioral changed due to brain deterioration

Glands dry up

Immune system deteriorates, resulting in more infections, poorer

wound healing, and increased cancer

Digestion problems, inflammation, bloating, allergies, autoimmune

conditions

Bone mineral loss

Reproductive failure: sterility in males and miscarriage in females

Retarded growth of children

Tingling in arms and legs due to nerve deterioration

Vision and learning problems

Insulin resistance

Increased risk of overweight

Increased cancer risk

Increased cardiovascular risk

Decreased ability to cope with stress

In mental illness, increased symptoms

Decreased lung function

Decreased tissue oxidation

 

 

 

How does the body distribute essential fats?

 

Essential fats are distributed through the same vehicles that carry

cholesterol throughout the body.

 

They are found in chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL, IDL, HDL and the other

carriers.

 

In fact, a molecule of essential fat has to be hitched to a molecule

of cholesterol to transport cholesterol in these vehicles.

 

Fat is carried in a watery system (our blood stream) by adding

lecithin. Lecithin allows oil and water, which normally don't mix, to

mix quite readily. This is because one end of the lecithin molecule

is water-soluble while the other is oil-soluble. It therefore forms

an interface between water and oil.

 

Proteins and minerals are also involved as carriers in the transport

of fatty acids throughout the body.

 

Can you get too much essential fat?

 

When you get more than 12-15% of total calories as n-3s, there is a

fat " burn-off " based on increased metabolic rate. Other than

exceeding liver capacity and getting nauseous, or not sleeping

because of too much energy because you took it too close to bedtime,

it doesn't appear so.

 

2. Udo's Choice™ Oil Blend

Why is Udo's Choice Oil Blend so effective for health?

 

The effectiveness of the blend rests both on its ingredients and on

the methods of production, packaging, storage, and use.

 

The blend is very rich in the more therapeutic n-3s (omega 3 fatty

acids). It contains the best oils (flax, sunflower, sesame) from

organic sources.

 

It is rich in " minor ingredients " with major health benefits.

 

It contains 65mg/tablespoon of phytosterols, which block absorption

and re-absorption of cholesterol from our gut, and both normalizes

and stabilizes immune function. It contains lecithin. It contains

medium chain triglycerides, and also rice and oat germ oils. It

contains the anti-oxidants vitamin E, tocotrienols, and rosemary

oils. Additionally, the ingredients are blended together in just the

right amounts for best health.

 

The oils in the blend are unrefined. The blend is pressed at low

temperature under exclusion of light and oxygen, packaged in brown

glass, then put in a box to eliminate light leakage. It is

refrigerated during storage and all but short-term (2 week maximum)

shipping. Additionally, the oil is never used for frying.

 

Thus, made right and used right, the blend provides the health-

enhancing n-3s, n-6s, and " minor ingredients " in the best possible

way for the body's needs.

 

What is the maximum advisable dose of your oil blend?

 

I've seen as much as 10 tablespoons per day used in cases of cancer,

AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, and weight reduction. I once ingested 15

tablespoons in one day, and on another occasion, I had 17 tablespoons

of the oil blend mixed in fruit juice for breakfast. I had no problem

digesting it but I also wasn't hungry for the rest of the day.

 

In the beginning, you may want to start with smaller amounts and

gradually increase to optimum levels which is approximately 1

tablespoon per 50 pounds of body weight; especially if you have a

history of being on a low fat or a no fat diet, or if your liver is

weak.

 

Should your liver be unable to handle the amount you are taking at

any one time, you will feel heavy or become nauseous. If you took

even more oil at this point, you would vomit. Why? The liver has to

process the oils and fats you eat. If you exceed its processing

capacity by taking more oil at any one time than it can handle, it

will protect itself from overworking by making you hurl.

 

If you do become nauseous, you must begin with smaller amounts. How

small? If you can't take three tablespoons, take one. If one is too

much, use one teaspoon. If that's too much, take a few drops. If

that's too much, take a lick. And if that's too much, take a whiff.

But don't quit. Your body requires essential fats in order to

function and for you to live. Someone once asked me: Can I just think

about it? And I said yes, because if you think about it, you will

eventually end up taking a whiff.

 

So start small, and eventually increase the amount you take.

 

Sometimes liver function is poor because of essential fat deficiency.

Then you must give this organ time to recover. Build up liver

capacity again by starting with small amounts of the precious

essential fats. Be gentle with yourself. Do what you can.

 

 

 

 

How much of your oil blend should we give to children?

 

Administer the oil in proportion to weight. If you weigh 100 pounds

and use 2 tablespoons each day to get soft, velvety skin, a 10 pound

child should take about 1/10th as much as you. However, because

children are more metabolically active than grown-ups, they may need

a little more oil than is proportional to their weight.

 

An approximation of the amount may also be calculated by giving one

teaspoon (5 ml) of the oil per each 7 kg (15 lb.) of body weight. A

child of 7 kg would take one teaspoon per day, whereas a man of 70 kg

would use 10 teaspoons (50ml) per day.

 

 

What does your oil blend taste like?

 

Udo's Choice tastes better than medicine, much better than cod liver

oil, but never quite as good as ice cream.

 

Most people like the taste of the oil blend. I sometimes drink it out

of the bottle. I can identify the favors of flax, sunflower, sesame,

and coconut. Different people report different tastes from the same

batch of oil. Let your tongue instruct you.

 

How should the oil blend be used?

 

Mix the blend in foods. Oils are compatible with all food groups.

They go with vegetable dishes such as greens, salads, steamed

vegetables, and soups; with starches such as grains, cereals, pasta,

oatmeal, potatoes, and yams; with proteins such as meat, eggs, dairy,

and fish; and finally, with fruit. You can layer oil on fruit juice

(oil shooters), mixed in applesauce or over fruit pieces. Some people

take the blend by the spoonful, but most don't like the taste of oils

by themselves to take it that way.

 

The blend can be used on cold and warm foods; but the blend (and all

essential fat-rich oils in general) should never be fried.

 

Frying destroys oils and makes them toxic, and then they, in turn,

destroy health.

 

You can use Udo's Choice oil blend in salad dressings; mix it with

yogurt; blend it into shakes; use it in fresh or bottled vegetable

juices; in soups; pour it over steamed vegetables; mix it into hot

cereals; put it on corn flakes; mix it with the yolk of soft-boiled

eggs; mix it into mashed potatoes. The blend brings out the taste of

bananas and fruit juices - it makes them taste almost psychedelic!

 

Use equal parts Udo's Choice Oil and extra virgin olive oil for

Mediterranean dishes; it improves the nutritional profile of the oil

and lightens the dish, while retaining the Mediterranean flavor. Use

equal parts Udo's Choice Oil and butter for spreads. Dip bread in the

blend, like people in Italy do. There are an infinite number of ways

to use the blend.

 

 

 

 

There are two good reasons for using the blend with foods. First,

oils enhance food flavors. Second, they improve the body's ability to

absorb health-benefiting oil-soluble phyto-nutrients, especially

abundant in vegetables, which are poorly absorbed without oils.

 

Why is there no EPA and DHA in your oil blend?

 

The oil blend builds the foundation for essential fat nutrition.

Essential fats are major nutrients and we need quite a lot of them.

They serve functions in our membranes and our cells in addition to

their roles as EPA, DHA and other derivatives, and prostaglandins.

 

If given enough of the starting material (n-6 LA and n-3 LNA), the

body can usually convert essential fats into the derivatives and

prostaglandins, but cannot convert prostaglandins and derivatives

back into essential fats again. Therefore, the essential fat-rich

oils are an important function in this regard.

 

I recommend that one first lays down a proper foundation. Then, if

there remains specific problems (such as premenstrual syndrome or

rheumatoid arthritis) that are not addressed by an optimum intake of

essential fat-rich, properly balanced, organically grown, freshly

made, properly packaged, and properly used oils, add EPA and DHA to

this foundation.

 

I prefer toro (belly) sushi from albacore (white) tuna as my source

of EPA and DHA. Salmon, mackerel, sardines, and rainbow trout are

other good sources. You may find further benefits from eating such

fish. Most people will not need them, but they may help a small

percentage of the population.

 

I prefer eating fish to swallowing fish oil capsules because of the

processing damage that occurs in fish oils.

 

Fish oils are very difficult to work with. The " fishy " flavor of

encapsulated oils or cod liver oil is actually rancidity. Fresh fish

does not have this taste or smell. I also have concerns about fish

liver oils. They are most likely to contain (and concentrate) highly

toxic industrial chemicals such as PCBs.

 

Are other GLA, EPA, and DHA-containing oils compatible with your

blend?

 

All oils are compatible with one another.

 

 

 

3. Oil Processing

How did we lose the good fats and other vital nutrients?

 

Good fats were lost in the diet because of their sensitivity to

destruction by light, air, and heat. Low fat foods are becoming more

and more popular. They cannot keep us healthy, but they serve the

manufacturers' need for long shelf life. Since the good fats can

spoil rapidly, long shelf life requires their absence from foods. But

health requires their presence.

 

 

The n-3 EFA is destroyed by light, air, and heat 5 times more rapidly

than is the n-6 EFA. Since 1850, average intake of n-3 has decreased

to 16% of what it was then.

 

N-6 intake has doubled in the past 100 years, mainly due to strong

promotion of n-6 rich oils such as safflower and corn oils.

 

 

Most of the population does not get enough n-3. People on low fat

diets are likely to get insufficient n-3 as well as insufficient n-6.

 

As a result, research shows that more than twice as many health

problems respond to n-3s as respond to n-6 supplementation. However,

both are essential and so both must be present in the right ratio.

 

Too much n-3 EFA will crowd out the n-6 (this can happen from

exclusive use of flax oil) and will lead to n-6 deficiency, while too

much n-6 EFA will crowd out the n-3 and lead to n-3 deficiency.

 

 

Besides losses of EFAs due to processing, minerals, vitamins, fiber,

enzymes, and probiotics are also lost for the same reason.

 

These components of health must be replaced either by returning to a

diet more in line with nature—fresh, whole, raw, organic—or by taking

supplements of the components of health missing from our diets.

 

 

 

How can typical processing methods alter fats and endanger health?

 

Foremost among destructive processing methods are hydrogenation (or

hardening), frying, and the processes used to make cooking (refined,

bleached, deodorized [RBD]) oils.

 

 

Hydrogenation, which is used to turn oils into margarine,

shortening, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, produces trans-

fatty acids, which are twisted molecules. Twisted, their shape

changes, and they lose their health benefits and acquire toxicity

instead.

 

 

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, trans- fatty acids

double risk of heath attack, kill at least 30,000 Americans every

year, and increase diabetes.

 

Other research shows that they interfere with vision in children,

interfere with cerebral cortex function (lower intelligence),

interfere with liver detoxification, make platelets more sticky,

correlate with increased prostate and breast cancers, interfere with

insulin function, and in animals (no human studies done) interfere

with reproduction.

 

They also interfere with EFA functions, and make EFA deficiency

worse.

 

 

Frying has been known for 40 years to increase cancer and heart

disease. During frying, oils are exposed to the destructive effects

of light, air, and heat, all at the same time.

 

 

Cooking is best done with water (steam, poach, boil, pressure cook).

 

The richer an oil is in EFAs (especially n-3), the more it is damaged

when fried, and the more toxic it becomes.

 

 

When fried food turns brown, the brown part is toxic.

 

That's because when it is fried, the food loses water and dries out,

then overheats and burns. If the food remains wet, it cannot burn.

Only the outside of fried food burns: the inside is steamed, even in

a frying pan.

 

 

The same premise applies to baking. The outside (crust) dries out,

overheats, and burns. The inside of the bread remains moist, and is

steamed.

 

 

To prevent overheating and burning, use water in a pot or pan, and

use a lid so the food remains wet.

 

Then it cannot burn. Take care that when you protect the top of the

food from burning, you don't forget the bottom of the food. Stir or

add water to keep the bottom of the food from burning.

 

 

Cooking oils are made by treating oils pressed from seeds with

corrosive base, corrosive acid, and bleaching clays. This is done to

remove 'minor' ingredients, which have major health benefits, but

shorten the shelf stability of the oil.

 

 

Bleaching turns oils rancid, and they acquire a bad odor of

rancidity. They must then be deodorized to remove the rancid odor,

and this process is carried out at frying temperature.

 

 

Oils treated this way have lost most of their minor ingredients, are

unbalanced, and contain about 0.5 to 1% molecules that have been

changed by the processing from natural to toxic.

 

 

All of the cooking oils normally found on store shelves have been

treated this way (these are the refined, bleached, deodorized or RBD

oils),

 

except for extra virgin olive oil, which has not undergone RBD

processing and retains its minor ingredients intact.

 

 

Italians traditionally used butter and lard for frying, fried

seldom, and added extra virgin olive oil to foods after these have

been cooked with water.

 

 

Saturated (hard) fats like butter, dairy fats, pork, beef, and lamb

fats, and tropical fats are natural. All foods contain some. The body

uses them for energy and in cells and tissues.

 

These fats cause problems only if we do not get enough EFAs in our

diet.

 

 

EFAs and saturated fats have opposite effects in the body. EFAs

(especially n-3) increase insulin sensitivity and make platelets less

sticky, making a clot in an artery (stroke, heart attack, embolism)

less likely. Saturated fats, on the other hand, increase insulin

resistance and make platelets more sticky.

 

 

To prevent the negative effects of saturated fats, we need to make

sure that we optimize our intake of EFAs before we start using

saturated fats in our diet. And we need to make sure that EFAs always

win the competition with saturated fats.

 

 

4. Good Fats

Where do we find good fats?

 

There are four sources of good fats.

 

 

1. Green vegetables contain good fats, but in very small quantities.

To get 2 tablespoons of good fats, a person would have to eat over 60

pounds of vegetables per day. That is impossible.

 

2. Seeds and nuts are richer sources of EFAs. But there is no seed or

nut that gives an optimum ratio of n-3 to n-6 to keep us healthy in

our present situation with food habits. Flax is the richest source of

n-3, but a poor source of n-6. Sunflower and sesame seeds contain n-6

but no n-3. So we must mix and match these seeds to get both EFAs in

the right quantities and ratio.

 

3. High fat, cold water fish such as sardines, salmon, trout,

herring, and mackerel contain n-3 and n-6 derivatives. Eating fish is

preferable to using fish oil capsules, due to contamination of fish

oils with mercury, pesticides, and PCBs, and due to damage done to

fish oils during processing.

 

4. Oils made with health in mind: pressed from organically grown

seeds under protection of light, air, and heat; filtered and filled

into dark glass bottles under the same protection; boxed to keep out

all light; refrigerated during storage at the factory, in stores, and

in the home; and used with care in food preparation (never used for

frying, sautéing, or baking).

 

Oils made with this care are found in the refrigerator in health food

stores. It is unusual to see such care taken in oil preparation,

packaging, storage, and use. But this kind of care is necessary if

EFA-rich oils are to retain their health benefits.

 

http://www.udoerasmus.com/FAQ.htm#3_2