Healthy fats. It almost sounds like an oxymoron. Who would have thought fats could be healthy when eaten from the right sources? The wave of fear for fats began in the 1970s when Senator George McGovern called a hearing to raise the attention of the link between diet and disease. During that time, the Capitol Hill restaurant menu consisted of high-fat options such as steak with claret sauce, buttered succotash, and pineapple cheesecake. As you can imagine, the senators weren’t in the best shape, and as a result during the 1960s and 1970s eight U.S. Senators died in office due to heart disease.
From the McGovern hearing the first set of dietary guidelines for Americans was born, the nation’s go-to source for nutrition advice that is published every five years. Almost overnight the food industry was turned upside down. High-fat packaged foods were revised into low fat or nonfat options and to make the products remain palatable food manufacturers replaced the fat with sugar.
What the government failed to mention was that the type of fat is the most important factor when talking about dietary fat.
“Good” fats consist of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These lower disease risk and are found in sources such as avocado, olives, vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds.
“Bad” fats include trans and saturated fat. These increase the risk of disease, even when eaten in small quantities. Trans fat come primarily from processed and fried foods and baked goods that contain hydrogenated vegetable oil. Saturated fat is found primarily in animal products such as meat, dairy, and cheese. Plant sources include coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa.
Believe it or not, our body needs fat. Dietary fat provides energy and support to cell growth. In addition, fat helps protect our organs and aid in keeping our body warm. Fats also are needed to absorb certain nutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins and are needed to produce important hormones.
