June 22, 2017 general

For decades, the diet dictocrats said that eating fat in any form was bad. We should have been suspicious about that advice because those were the same geniuses who told us that formula was better than breast milk and that margarine was better than butter. To their credit, they did finally recognize those ideas were wrong and discovered the danger of trans fats in “foods” like shortening and margarine. (Hmmm…I never heard any apologies).

Even after rightfully shifting focus to sugar and refined starch as the primary concern regarding heart disease, most still stick to their guns that saturated fat is evil and that vegetable oils are to be preferred. I don’t take this faddish science too seriously. One reason is that it doesn’t make a lot of sense in the context of human history or compared to what is eaten by folks in “primitive” cultures that are healthier than we are.

Coconut Oil. The American Heart Association (AHA) recently attacked coconut oil and implied that anyone who thinks it is good is kind of stupid. USA Today covered that story with little questioning of the validity of the position. (Maybe there is no connection, but the pharmaceutical and chemical companies provide major support for the AHA.) GreenMedInfo.com wrote in defense of coconut oil. Toward the bottom of that article is a listing of some of the studies showing health benefits from coconut oil. I don’t recommend getting carried away with coconut oil. Not everyone will have a good response and there are other perhaps better choices below. Yes, coconut oil is mostly saturated fat, but… Here is more information on coconut oil and MCT’s (medium chain triglycerides).

Saturated fat. There is a virtual war going on in cardiology about even the most basic assumptions—that cholesterol is the cause of heart disease and that saturated fats cause cholesterol. The old guard at AHA is still recommending vegetable oils. (See below) They must have needed a change of underwear when they read the April 25^th British Journal of Sports Medicine. An editorial written by 3 cardiologists declared: Saturated fat does not clog the arteries.

Vegetable Oils. Vegetables are great. Vegetable oils, not so much. Oils like those from corn, soybeans, cottonseed and safflower are high in the pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats. (Heart disease is at its core an inflammatory condition.) Worse yet, in her June 24, 2017 interview, Dr. Renee Dufault will tell us that they are a source of mercury. Canola oil is a special case. I have other complaints about it which I discuss in my book noted below.

Macadamia Nut Oil. Nut oils are generally good. Macadamia is far and away my favorite. Not only does it have a beneficial fatty acid profile like olive oil, it also has a higher smoke point and is absolutely buttery-delicious. I use it for sautéing veggies, salad dressings and in my occasional fancy birthday cakes. It is not sold everywhere. This links to my source for MacNut Oil. The MNO brand is unrefined golden Australian oil and is vastly superior to the pale Hawaiian.

Olive and Avocado Oils. Olive oil has a well-deserved reputation for being healthful. Two cautions though: (1) The healthful version is legitimate “extra virgin”, but there are a lot of fraudulent products on the market. (2) Olive oil has a low smoke point and is not stable in the cupboard for long. Avocado does not share the olive oil problems. I just haven’t yet been able to research the processing methods.

In my easy to read skinny book, Fat Free Folly, I cover a lot of detail on the above topics. Now that HBN no longer has an online store, my son Andy Hopkins’ HealthWorksMart.com is the only place that book is available. (My other books are on Amazon.) I asked Andy to lower the price on the fat book from $6.95 to $5 to help me spread some sanity. I figured while I was at it I should also twist his arm to give another discount. So, until the end of June, use the code MW10 to save 10% off your whole purchase of his already discounted products (including for example, my books, Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics and MacNut Oil).