Fake Fats

I haven’t picked on trans-fats in a while.  While it’s been well recognized that these fake, unnatural fats have been linked to heart disease for some time, very recent research from the American Heart Association shows a link between trans-fats and advanced dementia or Alzheimer’s as well.

For decades it was the saturated animal fats that were thought to be the culprits to chronic disease.  So for years, fats were reduced and removed from foods while things like butter and lard were replaced with margarine and vegetable oil.  This strategy simply has not worked and it’s contributed to millions of early deaths.  The reason why this didn’t work and what you really need to know about trans-fats is that they are synthetic and they prevent the production of a chemical in your body known as prostacyclin which is necessary to keep blood flowing.  As a result, trans-fats cause clogging of the artery walls.  Likewise these oils including vegetable, soybean, corn, and sunflower oils when heated oxidize (or break down).  This reaction causes clotting and hardening of the arteries.  It is this same oxidation that is thought to contribute to the plaques in the brain that are related to Alzheimer’s.  In order to avoid trans-fats, you need to avoid any foods containing or cooked in hydrogenated vegetable oil.  This means avoiding all fried foods such as french fries and many other highly processed foods including chips, cookies, crackers, and cereals.  Even though these pseudo-foods have become the staple of the American diet, the good news is that the body can eliminate trans-fats in about a month when we quit putting them in our pie holes.  This makes eating out very difficult and fast-food almost impossible.  The best strategy is cooking natural whole foods at home.

Please understand that I am not advocating going fat-free.  Your body needs fat for brain function and hormone production!  You just want to reduce and eliminate these toxic fats and replace them with natural fats such as organic butter, avocados, fish oil, coconut and coconut oil, raw nuts (almonds, pecans, and macadamia) and seeds.  And even organic egg yolks and grass-fed meats are on the healthy list.  Another factor to be aware of is that statin drugs for cholesterol also increase the risk of dementia/Alzheimer’s because they deplete the brain of essential fatty acids and coenzyme Q10.  However, when you replace the trans-fats with healthy fats, cut sugar, and add in some exercise and stress reduction, most (if not all) people would not have a need for statin drugs to begin with.  So if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, consider going no trans-fats for a month and see what happens.