Back in 2018, I wrote an article about the benefits of eating healthy fats. At the time, the idea wasn’t popular and was vilified as an evil food that makes you fat and contributes to health issues. On the flip side of that, our current foods are filled with the unhealthiest fats, aka plastics, that can lead to unhealthy weight and health issues. Considering the revised food pyramid with healthy fats being one of the top standouts, I thought I would recycle that article again this month.
Let’s face it…the eating fat will make you fat hypothesis just doesn’t hold water. Dietary fat has been vilified since Ancel Keys conducted his Seven Country Study in the late 50’s, in which he sought to establish a correlation between heart disease and saturated fat. Interestingly, Key’s study did find a correlation between eating saturated fat and heart disease, but his experiments used artificially processed vegetable oils, specifically those hydrogenated. Hydrogenated vegetable oils contain not just saturated fat but also trans-fat and a whole host of other unnatural molecules. Trans fat does indeed raise blood cholesterol, as well as lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Let’s get to the meat of why eating healthy fat doesn’t make you fat. Of the three macronutrients, protein, carbohydrates, and fat, dietary fat is least likely to stimulate an insulin response. Remember, insulin is the queen hormone of weight loss/gain. In a non-diabetic person, insulin produced in the pancreas allows the body to use glucose (from carbs) for energy. When insulin levels are elevated, the body is instructed to store sugar for later, and any excess is stored as fat.
So, how does eating fat make you fat? While fat is higher in calories, it is very satiating; you don’t require as much food, and you won’t be hungry within 30 minutes. If you consume a donut for breakfast, the insulin is released in response to the high sugar surge. The body says I’d better hang on to this energy for later, just in case.
The “eating fat makes you fat” hypothesis makes sense if you eat nothing but bacon all day, every day, but I would imagine your satiety hormones would kick in to stop you from overdoing it.
I’ve done my own experimentation with trying to overeat fat, and I failed. One morning, I cooked up 4 strips of bacon, fried 3 eggs in bacon fat, and ate an avocado. I couldn’t get past eating 2 pieces of bacon and 1 egg when the feeling of fullness set in. Did I just poke a hole in another theory that eating fat will make you fat?
Fats are essential to health at every level, from the cellular to the systemic; however, decades of misinformation about the health benefits of saturated fat have led many people to go out of their way to avoid fatty foods. Unfortunately, low-fat diets remain popular today, with many people believing they are eating healthily. Many mainstream health care professionals, government guidelines, and official nutrition authorities also believe the idea that low-fat diets are healthier.
Fats are essential for the very structure of our cells. Within the plasma membrane, cholesterol molecules help the cell maintain its shape and structure; without cholesterol, the membrane would not remain smooth and consistent. Our bodies have the capacity to produce some cholesterol via the liver, and some fatty acids; however, to support healthy cell structure and metabolism, it is important that we consume plenty of fat from healthy sources.
In addition to fat being essential for cellular structure and health, certain fatty acids and structures play other critical roles in the body. Fat also helps regulate blood sugar and appetite as it has a satiating effect and can lower insulin and blood sugar responses to certain foods.
There have been many misleading studies, along with powerful food manufacturers, who, together, have convinced so many people that saturated fat is evil and should be avoided at all costs. Polyunsaturated fats are unstable and prone to oxidative damage because they generate free radicals. These fats are particularly problematic when heated because heat makes them even more unstable.
Unfortunately, polyunsaturated fats (oils) are more commonly used in commercial kitchens because they are cheaper and more convenient. Many people also choose to cook with these fats because they have been convinced that they are a healthier choice that actively lowers cholesterol and prevents heart disease. Instead of polyunsaturated fats, we should be choosing saturated fats, such as bacon fat, for cooking, as they are the most stable and taste delicious!
Also detrimental to human health are hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenated fats, also known as trans fats, were developed to meet demand for an unsaturated fat that would remain solid at room temperature. This plays havoc with our cellular metabolism because trans fats prevent our cells from performing certain critical functions.
In summary, polyunsaturated and hydrogenated fats should be avoided for good health. What would you rather eat: butter, bacon, or plastic? I’ll let you decide.
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