Ideal Fats Intake

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

Having not stirred things up enough for one day with my post that

appeared to recommend Mcs as the ideal source of nutrition (!)

here is another attempt. What is the optimal way to make up one's

required intake of fats?

My purpose here is NOT to make an authoritative post on the topic -

since I am no kind of authority on this - but instead to make a

rather simple case and hope it will provoke someone with much greater

knowledge than mine to straighten me (and anyone else in need of it)

out.

As I understand it there are two essential fats. Some say they are

linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). However, others say

that it is not the ALA that is essential, but rather the EPA and DHA

which the body can make from the ALA. I am not certain this is

correct. If inaccurate then please correct.

But assuming this is correct then let's move the argument forward.

In addition to the essential fats there are also harmful fats.

Hydrogenated oils are very seriously harmful as demonstrated clearly

in the Nurses' Health Study. Saturated fats are also unhealthy,

although nowhere nearly as bad as the hydrogenated 'trans-fats'.

Other fats may also be *marginally* harmful in the sense that they

are not essential, and if eaten will add unnecessary calories that

serve no useful purpose.

[There are some who claim that there are some beneficial saturated

fats. But I have not seen what I would call SERIOUS EMPIRICAL

evidence that confirms that. (And the argument that they are good to

use in an IV feed if you are stranded on a desert island is NOT the

kind of evidence I am looking for). If anyone has, please post it.

I will ignore them here].

In addition, data from a number of sources now indicate that men who

eat larger quantities of, or have higher levels in their blood of,

ALA have a markedly higher incidence of prostate cancer - a cancer

almost as common in men as breast cancer is in women, so not to be

lightly ignored.

The above no doubt are not the only factors that should be taken into

consideration regarding choice of fats. Flavor is another, where all

agree olive oil wins hands down - and butter also on those rare

occasions where it is an indispensible flavor component. But for the

purposes of this post, flavor issues will not be taken into account

in trying to choose the healthiest fats.

So what do the above issues suggest might be the healthiest fats for

MEN (taking the ALA problem into account) to consume? The following

is what logic (sometimes a poor guide) suggests to me:

One needs a source with the lowest trans, saturated and ALA fats, but

with the highest proportion of essential linoleic acid. (One wants

the highest proportion because one wants to get one's allocation of

essential linoleic with the least amount possible of other non-

essential fats that are serving no useful purpose we know of, beyond

their calories). And in addition we need a good source of EPA and

DHA.

The solution seems to be clear. The data I am using come from the

second large table at Tony Zamora's website health section on fats:

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/fattyacids.html

http://snipurl.com/5kpl

The three oils that have the highest levels of ALA are ruled

unacceptable as part of a healthy diet for males: they are flax (a

HUGE 53% ALA!!!); canola (10%); and soy (7%).

Oils containing the larger amounts of saturated fats are also to be

avoided (unless/until I see persuasive evidence for some of them to

the contrary). This includes all animal fats as well as quite a few

plant based fats including tropical oils like palm oil and avocado.

Olive oil is 16% saturated, more than we would like. Soybean oil

15%. Corn oil 13%. The two vegetable sourced oils containing less

than 10% saturated fat are safflower (9%) and canola (6%). But we

have already ruled out canola because of its ALA content.

Oils with the highest percentages of essential linoleic acid are also

to be favored. So, which oils contain the highest linoleic acid

content? Safflower (78%); sunflower (68%); and corn (58%).

For an excellent source of EPA and DHA (while avoiding ALA) the

answer would appear to be either fish oil or fish itself. (I choose

the latter because of a Physicians Health Study report that fish oil

*supplements* made no difference to the cardiovascular health those

who supplemented with them). But from the 'essential fats' point of

view the supplement should be just as good.

So the conclusion I draw from this line of argument is to use

predominantly safflower oil (with olive oil where necessary and

butter on rare occasions) along with fish/fish oil regularly for the

EPA and DHA. I eat a small amount of fish, most of it canned, pretty

much every day.

So now you can shoot me down, folks, please : ^ )))

Rodney.