When healthy oil becomes dangerous

Trans fat = poison

If you think you are avoiding trans fat by not using fake foods like margarine or processed peanut butter.

Surprise! There is another way that you may be ingesting trans fat while thinking you are being "good". I'm talking about when good things go bad.

Suzanne Sommers has done decades of research into healthy eating and in her book, "Slim and Sexy Forever" she says:

"Trans fats also occur when we heat polyunsaturated fats (such as vegetable oil) to high temperatures for frying. I know it sounds ironic, but you are actually better off frying food in saturated fat - such as butter, lard, or palm kernel oil - or in monounsaturated fat - such as peanut oil - than you are frying it in polyunsaturated oil such as corn, safflower, or vegetable oil. We've been led to believe these polyunsaturated oils are a healthier choice, but beware of frying foods with them because when heated too high, they become the most unhealthy types of fats - trans fats.

In response to the fat scare, many restaurants and food chains boast that they fry only in "cholesterol-free" oils, such as vegetable, corn, or safflower oil. These "healthy" oils in their natural state become dangerous trans fats when heated to high temperatures for frying!"

Fats - Good with vegatables and to help omega-3 absorbtion

"Without fats, even vegetable are less nutritious. Brightly colored vegetables are rich in antioxidant carotenoids. They go better with butter. In 2004, Iowa State University researchers who compared people eating salads with traditional or fat-free dressing found those shunning fat failed to absorb lycopene and beta-carotene, powerful antioxidants that boost immunity and fight cancer and heart disease.

'Fat is necessary for the carotenoids to reach the absorptive intestinal walls,' said the lead researcher, Wendy White. Lycopene is found in tomatoes and beta-carotene in orange, yellow and green vegetables.

The chemistry of fats can explain the long tradition of serving fish with butter and cream. Saturated fats are required to assimilate omega-3 fats, and they make omega-3 fats go farther in the body."

Credited to Nina Planck in her book: "Real Food - what to eat and why"

Protein + fat = nutrition absorption

"Eating protein with fat makes nutritional sense, because all food, and protein in particular, requires fat for proper digestion.

Consider, for example, two near-perfect foods: eggs and milk. Both foods are a complete nutritional package, designed for a growing organism's exclusive nutrition, and must contain everything the body needs to assimilate the nutrients they contain.

Thus the fats in the egg yolk aid digestion of the protein in the white, and lecithin in the yolk aids metabolism of its cholesterol. The butterfat in milk facilitates protein digestion, and saturated fat in particular is required to absorb the calcium.

Calcium, in turn, requires vitamins A and D to be properly assimilated, and they are found only in the butterfat. Finally, vitamin A is required for production of bile salts that enable the body to digest protein.

Without the butterfat, then, you don't get the best of protein, fat-soluble vitamins, or calcium from milk. That's why I don't eat, and cannot recommend, egg white omelets and skim milk. They are low-quality, incomplete foods."

Credited to Nina Planck in her book: "Real Food - what to eat and why"

Extra virgin olive oil

Olive oil is very high in compounds called phenols, which are potent antioxidants. It is also mainly made up of monounsaturated fat, the most important of which is called oleic acid, shown in research to be extremely heart healthy. Olive oil may also help to decrease the risk of colon and bowel cancer. But all olive oil is not created equal. The stuff you want is made from organic olives that are picked by hand; the oil is separated without the use of heat, hot water, or solvents, and it is left unfiltered. The first pressing produces the best stuff, known as “extra virgin” olive oil. Once you begin machine harvesting and processing with heat, you start damaging the health-promoting, delicate compounds in olive oil. So make sure to seek the extra virgin stuff—it’s worth the extra money.

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth