Fats have become something of a pet topic for me. They’re the macronutrient that everyone loves to hate, unfairly persecuted by myths still perpetuated by the marketing of commercial food products and the diet industry. I suppose I’ve made it a bit of a personal mission to get the word out there about beautifully nourishing, natural fats. But of course, not all fats are created equal. Here’s a brief run down on four main types of fat that we consume.
1. Saturated fats (SFAs), are completely “saturated” with hydrogen atoms and contain only single bonds in their molecular structure. This makes them extremely stable in the body (will not oxidize) and also very stable at high temperatures for cooking with. Saturated fats include those predominantly found in butter, shellfish, full-fat dairy, ghee, tallow, egg yolks, coconut and in the meat, skin and fat of animals. Saturated fats have been the prominent fats in the human diet that have sustained healthy populations across the globe for tens of thousands of years. *(Saturated fats sadly have been wrongly associated with an increased risk of cardiac disease, see this article for the full run down on why saturated fats are not to blame).
2. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) contain one double bond in their structure, making them slightly more prone to oxidation than saturated fats (but far less volatile than highly unstable polyunsaturated fats). Monounsaturated fats include those predominantly found in olives, macadamias, avocado, red meat, and the fats and oils produced from these foods (olive oil, lard, etc). They are best consumed in their cold-pressed form, rather than for cooking with at high heats.
3. Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) contain two or more reactive double bonds in their molecular structure, making them highly unstable and prone to oxidation and rancidity when exposed to light, heat or air. Large amounts of polyunsaturated fats are a recent addition to the human diet due to the large intake of vegetable oils. In fact, the recent rise of polyunsaturated fats in the human diet accounts for the most drastic dietary change in human evolutionary history. The ominous implications of this for human health are incredibly far-reaching – see this post for a complete run-down on the dangers of these kinds of fats. Polyunsaturated fats include those predominantly found in canola and corn oil, nuts, seeds, flaxseed oil, fish oil, soybean oil, sunflower and safflower oils and sesame oil.
4. Trans fats include man-made synthetic fats found in margarine and oxidized, hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats (polyunsaturated fats exposed to heat, light, oxygen, etc) found in most packaged biscuits, cakes, pastries, chips, muesli bars, „health‟ bars, all deep-fried foods and foods cooking vegetable oils (canola, soybean, safflower, sunflower, etc). Trans fats are incredibly pro-inflammatory and cause oxidative damage to tissues, organs and suppress mitochondrial cellular respiration (cell function). There is an exception, a beneficial natural trans fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), small amounts of which can be found in cream and butter, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and cardio-protective benefits.
It may come as a surprise, given that nuts are so widely touted for their “healthful” fats, that I absolutely do not recommend consuming vast quantities of nuts. There’s a couple of reasons behind this. Firstly, although nuts on paper contain good levels of essential vitamins and minerals, they also contain significant quantities of antinutrients such as phytic acid, that render the micronutrients found in nuts somewhat unavailable for us to absorb and digest (although this problem can be reduced by soaking and drying raw nuts before eating). Secondly, almost all nuts have a high inflammatory polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) content... it would be a little unwise to go nuts on nuts. Basically, they arehighly prone to rancidity and oxidation in the body, inhibiting cellular respiration, suppressing metabolism and causing widespread free-radical damage and inflammation in the body.
Australia’s own native export, the macadamia nut, is the nut with the lowest percentage of polyunsaturated fats, and the highest percentage of more stable monounsaturated fats. If you’re eating lots of nuts, then they’re your best bet in terms of fatty acid nutrition. Macadamia nuts also contain significant levels of calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Combined with iron-rich spinach, rosemary for flavour and antioxidants, and extra virgin olive oil (another a source of monounsaturated fat), the macadamia recipe below packs a hefty nutritional punch.
2. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) contain one double bond in their structure, making them slightly more prone to oxidation than saturated fats (but far less volatile than highly unstable polyunsaturated fats). Monounsaturated fats include those predominantly found in olives, macadamias, avocado, red meat, and the fats and oils produced from these foods (olive oil, lard, etc). They are best consumed in their cold-pressed form, rather than for cooking with at high heats.
3. Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) contain two or more reactive double bonds in their molecular structure, making them highly unstable and prone to oxidation and rancidity when exposed to light, heat or air. Large amounts of polyunsaturated fats are a recent addition to the human diet due to the large intake of vegetable oils. In fact, the recent rise of polyunsaturated fats in the human diet accounts for the most drastic dietary change in human evolutionary history. The ominous implications of this for human health are incredibly far-reaching – see this post for a complete run-down on the dangers of these kinds of fats. Polyunsaturated fats include those predominantly found in canola and corn oil, nuts, seeds, flaxseed oil, fish oil, soybean oil, sunflower and safflower oils and sesame oil.
4. Trans fats include man-made synthetic fats found in margarine and oxidized, hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats (polyunsaturated fats exposed to heat, light, oxygen, etc) found in most packaged biscuits, cakes, pastries, chips, muesli bars, „health‟ bars, all deep-fried foods and foods cooking vegetable oils (canola, soybean, safflower, sunflower, etc). Trans fats are incredibly pro-inflammatory and cause oxidative damage to tissues, organs and suppress mitochondrial cellular respiration (cell function). There is an exception, a beneficial natural trans fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), small amounts of which can be found in cream and butter, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and cardio-protective benefits.
It may come as a surprise, given that nuts are so widely touted for their “healthful” fats, that I absolutely do not recommend consuming vast quantities of nuts. There’s a couple of reasons behind this. Firstly, although nuts on paper contain good levels of essential vitamins and minerals, they also contain significant quantities of antinutrients such as phytic acid, that render the micronutrients found in nuts somewhat unavailable for us to absorb and digest (although this problem can be reduced by soaking and drying raw nuts before eating). Secondly, almost all nuts have a high inflammatory polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) content... it would be a little unwise to go nuts on nuts. Basically, they arehighly prone to rancidity and oxidation in the body, inhibiting cellular respiration, suppressing metabolism and causing widespread free-radical damage and inflammation in the body.
Australia’s own native export, the macadamia nut, is the nut with the lowest percentage of polyunsaturated fats, and the highest percentage of more stable monounsaturated fats. If you’re eating lots of nuts, then they’re your best bet in terms of fatty acid nutrition. Macadamia nuts also contain significant levels of calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Combined with iron-rich spinach, rosemary for flavour and antioxidants, and extra virgin olive oil (another a source of monounsaturated fat), the macadamia recipe below packs a hefty nutritional punch.
Rosemary and macadamia pesto
The rosemary in this recipe goes beautifully with roast meat, particularly lamb, as well as roast vegetables, chicken and white fish.
Makes 1.5 cups
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and stems discarded
5 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts
2 tbs parmesan cheese, grated
3 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a small food processor or hand blender bowl. Process for 1 minute to roughly combine. Add the olive oil, slowly, in batches, processing until emulsified and smooth. Add extra olive oil if desired, and season to taste with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Makes 1.5 cups
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and stems discarded
5 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts
2 tbs parmesan cheese, grated
3 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a small food processor or hand blender bowl. Process for 1 minute to roughly combine. Add the olive oil, slowly, in batches, processing until emulsified and smooth. Add extra olive oil if desired, and season to taste with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
