Put Your Health on the Menu: Eat Less Fat

Minimizing Fat Intake lmproves Health

Want to have a healthier lifestyle? One of the key factors to consider is your fat intake. Consuming excess amounts of fat can lead to various health problems, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Two new studies have shown how reducing dietary fat, even from plant-based sources, can improve our health.

Understanding dietary fat

Dietary fat is an essential macronutrient that provides energy, aids in the absorption of vitamins, and supports various bodily functions. However, not all fats are created equal. There are different types of fats, including saturated fats, trans fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. Understanding the differences between these fats is crucial when it comes to making healthier choices.

Saturated fats, commonly found in animal products and some plant-based oils, can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Trans fats, often found in processed foods and margarine, are even more harmful and should be avoided as much as possible. While trans fats are no longer allowed as an ingredient in foods, they are produced when oils are cooked at a high heat, so french fries, chips and other fried foods will have trans fats.

On the other hand, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, found in whole foods such as avocados, nuts, and seeds, are considered healthier fats and should make up most of the fat in your diet.

To minimize fat intake, it is important to focus on reducing saturated and processed fats while incorporating healthier, unprocessed food into your diet.

The F-Bomb: Hidden Dangers of Excess Body Fat

Health risks associated with high-fat diets

A new study from the University of California has linked a high-fat diet to the immune system, brain function and COVID-19. While this study was done on mice, humans and mice share 97.5% of their working DNA, so the results should give you a reason to consider reducing your dietary fat.

Remember that this is not about one meal but about consistent dietary patterns and most people eat three times the amount of fat that they need. The North American diet consists of 40% fat. However, a healthy diet could be as low as 15%.

The researchers fed three groups of mice a diet of 40% fat from different plant-based sources for 24 weeks. Then they looked at something a little different. Not only did they look at the microbiome, but also the changes in DNA in four different areas of the intestines.

The first group ate a diet high in saturated fat from coconut oil. The second group ate a high-fat, monounsaturated diet from modified soybean oil. The third group had unmodified soybean oil high in polyunsaturated fat. Then, they were all compared to a low-fat control diet. All three groups experienced negative changes in gene expression, the process that turns genetic information into a functional product, such as a protein.

High-fat diets change your health

The researchers found other concerning changes that influence our health. Not only were there the expected changes in genes related to fat metabolism, but also an increase in pathogenic E. coli, and a suppression of Bacteroides, which are critical for protecting the body against pathogens.

They found that high-fat diets impair our immune system genes while creating an environment for harmful gut bacteria as well as other changes that can influence our ability to fight infectious diseases.

Researchers also showed that all of the high-fat diets increase the expression of ACE2 and other proteins that are used by COVID-19 spike proteins to enter the body.

Which fat is the baddest of the bad?

It depends. They all showed negative interactions. Coconut oil was the worst for changing gene expression, followed by both types of soybean oil. Soybean oil changed the microbiome the most. Previous research has shown that soybean oil causes obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease in mice. This study reinforces the gut-brain connection by showing that several neurotransmitter genes were changed by the high-fat diets.

Soybean oil is used in the food industry, because it has a high smoke point, meaning it can be subjected to high temperatures. Making it ideal for frying all kinds of snacks. Soybean oil is also used in sauces and mayonnaise because it allows for a smooth texture. Its neutral taste makes it versatile for all types of processed foods. Coconut oil has been promoted as a healthy oil, but the best use for coconut oil is as a skin cream.

The researchers also reinforced that soybean oil is highly processed and their findings did not apply to tofu, or soybeans themselves.

Plants are protective

Another study published in the British Medical Journal found that people on a meat-free diet were 73% less likely to experience moderate to severe COVID symptoms. Compare this to the people eating a low carb diet who had 4 times the risk of moderate to severe symptoms.

While no diet can prevent an infectious disease, eating foods high in phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, and carotenoids, vitamins and minerals, and low in fat is important for a healthy immune system.

If you decided to improve your diet this year, you could start by reducing dietary fat.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla