I’m on spring break this week (first one in 2 years!), which explains why I finally have time to breathe post. I spent this past weekend with my sister, who is working on her MFA in poetry at IU. My sister’s morning breakfast ritual now includes oatmeal, courtesy of my addiction {muahaha}.
While Bethany wrote poems and graded papers (she teaches a class at IU), I worked on growth charts and patient case studies after 2 weeks at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. On Saturday, we ran 9.6 miles {keeping up with my half marathon schedule}, and she definitely dominated the hilly route, while I cursed my shin splints and resolved hill train more often.
Franklin [the cat who thinks he’s a dog] attempted to help with the homework situation by jumping on my chair every 5 minutes.
On to part 3 of the BFQ [big fat question]:
In my last post, I presented the idea that saturated fat may not be the cause of heart disease. Naturally, the question that remains is…
What causes heart disease?
Researchers Sally Fallon and Mary Enig proposed that the excess consumption of vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats, excess consumption of refined carbohydrates, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and the disappearance of antimicrobial fats from the food supply (animal fats and tropical oils) are all contributors to heart disease. We also know that there are other risk factors like age, gender (males are at greater risk), heredity, tobacco use, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, diabetes…the list goes on and on…
My opinion: I think it’s easy to point fingers at a specific nutrient, but the reality is…a lot of different factors go into the development of heart disease. Saturated fat may be a contributor, but I don’t believe that it’s the only factor.
What’s the scoop on coconut oil?
Mary Enig and Sally Fallon are two researchers who have invested a lot of time in studying the effects of coconut oil. Much of the info on the opposite side to the saturated fat story in my last post is from their research. Everything I have read in my nutrition textbook says that coconut is highly atherogenic due to the fact that it contains ~90% saturated fat. However, many studies have not found evidence that dietary coconut oil promotes heart disease (read about them here). Coconut oil may actually help fight cardiovascular disease. Some viruses are thought to contribute to the formation of atheromas (causing arterial blockage), but the lauric acid found in coconut oil counteracts these viruses by forming the antimicrobial lipid monolaurin.
What is cholesterol and where is it found?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that aids in cell membrane structure and is used to make hormones and bile acids (for fat digestion and absorption of fat soluble vitamins). Dietary cholesterol comes only from animal sources.
New research suggests that blood cholesterol levels are not the best predictor of heart disease risk but that the size of the LDL cholesterol particles might be a better predictor. Smaller, dense particles are thought to contribute more to heart disease than large particles.
What are the current recommendations for dietary fat intake?
The ADA supports:
- 20-35% of total calories from fat
- <7% of total calories from saturated fat (2005 Dietary Guidelines < 10% from saturated)
- up to 20% from monounsaturated fat
- up to 10% from polyunsaturated fat
The new dietary guidelines will be coming out this fall, and we may see a small adjustment in some of these percentages. I think there is still a lot of research yet to be done before we see a drastic change in recommendations.
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I hope you enjoyed these posts on fat! If you missed any of the BFQ (big fat question) series:
Upcoming topics…my take on the American Dietetic Association’s National Nutrition Month and another controversial subject…sodium.
Thanks for all your feedback and comments! I’m glad that you’re all open-minded about this issue, and I’m really interested to see how new developments and research will affect my dietary recommendations as a future dietitian.
