3 Myths About Fat That You Need To Stop Believing
I wanted to start my substack by covering the 3 macronutrients: protein, carbs, and fat. Now that I covered myths about protein and carbs, it’s time to dispel 3 fat myths that I see all the time:
3 Big Myths About Fat
#1). FAT MAKES YOU FAT
What matters most is total calorie intake and expenditure (which includes every factor like hormones, etc). If you eat too many calories beyond what your body uses, it doesn’t matter if it comes from dietary fat, carbs, or protein, it can be stored as triglycerides (fat) in the body.
Fats are energy-dense, however, so they can be easy to overconsume, but they also help with making you full at a meal, which can prevent overeating.
We have to eat sources of fat to build cells, make hormones, absorb vitamins, provide energy, and protect the brain and body, so it’s not optional as we need it to survive.
The focus of fat in our diet should be on sources and dosage, which can often be overlooked and feel hidden within processed food options. So instead of avoiding fat, we need a better application of them…which is what the next 2 points cover well.
#2). LOW-FAT PRODUCTS ARE SUPERIOR
The 1980s low-fat movement in America (which had very poor messaging and communication, highlighted by what you may remember later as “the food pyramid”) led to cutting all fats across the board, instead of focusing on which to emphasize—and we ended up replacing it with refined carbohydrate (instead of more appropriate fats or complex carbs and whole foods).
So we ended up with many low-fat products that replace fat with sugar and other additives, which are not highly harmful most of the time, but do lead to overconsumption or in some cases, poor gut microbiome outcomes. Low or non-fat items, like protein powders, PB powder, Greek yogurt (with no added sugar), etc. can actually still be great tools for managing caloric intake and improving health for many people. But if a surplus of energy is not an issue for you specifically, products that remove fat are probably not the best option.
Low-fat products encompass a wide variety of foods, but as a general rule, having more of these means that a greater percentage of your diet is processed food options, when we want to have a stronger majority be minimally processed and whole food options. So while low-fat bars, powders, products, etc. can actually be of use for some people, a lot of us may see benefit sticking with or going back to whole fat foods and just dosing them properly. This can improve both relationship with our food environment and potentially improve our physical health as well.
#3). FATS ARE EITHER HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY
All fat-containing foods have a mix of different fats, so this creates nuance right off the bat and means we can’t use a black or white outlook.
The two broad categories of saturated and unsaturated fats (a difference in chemical bonds) can actually be broken down into subtypes that range in health promotion, so this creates even more gray area that shouldn’t be referred to as “healthy” or “unhealthy”. But what is important to know in this moment in time is that many people do not get enough Omega 3 fat from diet (a type of unsaturated fat) and many people get plenty of Omega 6 (another unsaturated fat needed for survival) and too much saturated fat (not technically needed in the diet because our cells make it on their own). So in terms of health promotion, when see people add more omega 3 fats and other unsaturated fat sources into their diet to REPLACE excess saturated fat (assuming it’s not pushing them past their calorie needs) they almost always get healthier by several metrics. So if you need the more simplified version: using omega 3’s and unsaturated fats to substitute out excess amounts of saturated fat can be a good idea. So here’s the actual source of these fats:
Unsaturated fats:
Fish: Salmon, sardines, tuna
Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, pistachios
Seeds: Flax, chia, hemp
Avocado, olives, edamame/tofu
Olive oil and other plant oils (not palm oil)
Eggs
Saturated fats:
Processed meats, baked goods
Butter, ghee
Fatty meats
Palm oil, Coconut oil
Cream
Excess can impact heart health by several mechanisms including downregulating LDL clearing receptors in the liver, which often contains ApoB molecules that are responsible for heart disease late in life.
But even these foods and ingredients come packaged with other nutrients and overall provide your body with energy, so we can’t call them only “bad”
Some saturated fat sources are neutral or even beneficial due to the food’s overall nutrient profile, however:
Full-fat yogurt, cheese, dark chocolate (protective components like calcium, polyphenols, fat membranes, etc.)
But refined saturated fats like Butter and cream lack these protective factors since they are isolated and have these components removed.
Main Takeaway: Increase Omega 3 and Be Smart About Saturated Fat and Total Fat Intake
Include a variety of fats – prioritize unsaturated fats while still enjoying saturated ones to enjoy certain meals (life is just sad without some butter, cream, fatty meat and baked dessert)
Swap smart – use EV olive oil instead of butter for cooking, use Peanut butter instead of butter on toast, eat whole nuts and seeds instead of snacks with palm or coconut oil, and get leaner meat (plus you up your protein this way).
Limit highly processed foods – trans fats have already been banned thankfully in our food system, so no need to worry about these anymore, but labels with high saturated fats (like in protein bars, snacks) can push you over a daily limit.
Enjoy foods in their whole form – full-fat dairy and dark chocolate have benefits beyond just their fat content and finding a bunch of low-fat products is not a great answer to the poor fat messaging we’ve had for so long in America. Do not limit fats in your diet, because we need them. Just include more whole foods, diversify your intake, and learn the appropriate portions for you. This will take care of most of these issues around fat.