Comments on: Healthy Fats: Is There Such A Thing?

By: dlm

dlm — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:29:01 +0000

Just found your site and totally agree with your post on fats. After Gary Taubes “Good Calories, Bad Calories” masterpiece, there is no doubt we’ve been badly misled for the last 50 years. The enemy is carbs: starch/sugar.

By: KristenM

KristenM — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:58:55 +0000

MJ, I didn’t mention Canola oil because I don’t believe it’s a healthy fat. The vast majority of Canola oil comes from rapeseeds genetically-engineered to be Round-Up resistant in the 1990s. Even those that aren’t are still varieties of rapeseed invented in laboratories in the 1970s. In other words, Canola oil is a completely new oil in the human diet.

On top of the fact that it’s not a traditional fat (and by “traditional,” I mean we’ve been eating it for thousands of years), most Canola is also high-temperature/high-pressure extracted. The use of heat and/or pressure in the extraction process causes the delicate poly-unsaturated fats (Omega-3s and 6-s) to oxidize. The oils then smell and taste bad, so they’re chemically deodorized before being put on store shelves.

There are very few varieties of Canola oil available that are cold-pressed at low pressures. While that’s arguably a more natural processing method and helps prevent the oxidization of the polyunsaturated fats, you still have to contend with the fact that the non-GMO Canola oil is completely new to the human diet (only in existence since the 1970s).

Hope that answers your question!

By: MJ

MJ — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:15:20 +0000

Why wasn’t Canola oil mentioned? It’s a Canadian low-erucic acid bred (not GMO) rapeseed oil, it’s second only to olive oil being monounsaturated fat containing omega-3 fatty acid. It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, a smoke point is the temperature in which a oil breaks down and smokes when heated, this break down of oil is bad for your health (think fried foods, and free radicals) I use Canola is almost all my cooking as it has all the benefits I mentioned and a neutral flavored,almost tasteless. I use coconut oil in traditional ethnic dishes that I want to taste like coconuts and grape seed oil very sparingly in high temperature cooking, as it has a very high smoke point. I keep it in the refrigerator next to the sesame seed oil. I think only an idiot would waste very expensive cold pressed extra virgin olive oil on med to high temperature cooking, as it degrades the flavor, nutritional value, and color of the oil. To me that golden green goodness is strictly for home made salad dressings. P.S. Rapeseed was grown for hundreds of years for it’s oil before scientists found out that the erucic acid was very bad for your health, not everything “traditional” necessary equates to healthy for you!

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:20:51 +0000

Hi Kristen,

Do you know how sunflower oil stacks up here? I’ve been told it’s healthy and I use it for most cooking and salads.

Thanks

By: Dori

Dori — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:51:54 +0000

Melt coconut oil before putting it in your smoothie. It will be silky & delicious!

By: GIGI

GIGI — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:49:39 +0000

Mmmm! I love fat! Healthy fat that is! Is it gross that I lick the pan after I cook fatty and delicious salmon… and when I buy salmon I only buy its belly because that’s the fattiest part?! ha ha! Oh yea, bring it on!

GIGI

By: KristenM

KristenM — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:32:27 +0000

Rachel –

Throw it away! Hydrogenation turns whatever might be good about lard into evil trans fats which cause heart disease.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:50:23 +0000

I have another question: I have a package of lard which is hydrogenated. Does that negate the health benefits? Is hydrogenated lard better than nothing, or should I throw the package away?

Rachel

By: Gale

Gale — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:03:42 +0000

Hi! I was wondering how you knew about Sesame Seed Oil. I love the flavor it gives food and it has this wonderfully nutty smell (though I don’t know if I’d want to eat it straight…but that goes for olive oil too…and bacon fat).

By: KristenM

KristenM — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:50:47 +0000

Internet Driveby — I’ve never read Cordain’s book, but I admire many of the principles behind it.

Yeah, I’m not too keen on taking Cod Liver Oil either, but I can understand the argument for doing it. If you’re going to take supplements (which is what CLO is, no one suggests you cook with it!), then it’s best they come from food.

I do plan on writing more about the Lipid Hypothesis. Thus far I’ve got this post, a couple of others, and a video tutorial on fat. But, there is still sooo much more I haven’t covered yet.