Dietary fat itself is something that has gotten a bad rap. The misinformation propagated by the American Heart Association and American Dietetic Association certainly hasn't helped. But let's face it, the science indicates otherwise. To wit, here are some tidbits for you to chew on.
1. Fat from nuts and legumes are healthy. One study determined the effects of chronic peanut consumption on diet composition as well as serum lipids, magnesium and homocysteine concentrations in free-living subjects under different conditions of peanut intake a 30-week cross-over study. Energy intake from fat was increased through greater intake of MUFA (monounsaturated fat) and polyunsaturated fatty acids, while saturated fatty acid intake remained relatively stable under all conditions. What happened? Regular peanut consumption lowers serum triglycerides and increases the consumption of nutrients associated with reduced heart disease risk.(1)
2. EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid, helps blood vessels. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was tested to see if it improved metabolic vasodilation evoked by exercise in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Forearm blood flow (FBF) was measured by strain gauge plethysmography in 10 patients with stable CAD, before and 3 months after oral treatment with EPA (1,800 mg/kg). These results indicated that long-term treatment with EPA improves both endothelium-dependent and exercise-induced forearm vasodilations in patients with CAD and that this mechanism may be related to nitric oxide.(2)
3. Omega-3 fatty acids can be used to treat pain. Yes indeed! A group of clinicians reported their experience in a neurosurgical practice using fish oil supplements for pain relief. From March to June 2004, 250 patients who had been seen by a neurosurgeon and were found to have nonsurgical neck or back pain were asked to take a total of 1200 mg per day of omega-3 EFAs (eicosapentaenoic acid and decosahexaenoic acid) found in fish oil supplements. A questionnaire was sent approximately 1 month after starting the supplement. Fifty-nine percent discontinued taking their prescription NSAID medications for pain. Sixty percent stated that their overall pain was improved, and 60% stated that their joint pain had improved. Eighty percent stated they were satisfied with their improvement, and 88% stated they would continue to take the fish oil. So there you have it! Omega-3 EFA fish oil supplements appear to be a safer alternative to NSAIDs for treatment of nonsurgical neck or back pain in this selective group.(3) Bottom line: eat lots of fish!
4. Omega-3 fatty acids make you happy! Scientific research has shown that low frequency of fish eating was statistically significantly associated with depression in women, but not in men.(4) So if your girlfriend, wife, or both seem a little grumpy, take ‘em to a sushi restaurant and feed ‘em sashimi!
5. Diacylglycerol is a natural component of edible oils that has metabolic characteristics that are distinct from those of triacylglycerol. And get this; it may even help you lose fat! A recent study was conducted at an outpatient clinical research center. The subjects were fat men and women. Food products (muffins, crackers, soup, cookies, and granola bars) containing diacylglycerol or triacylglycerol oil and having the same fatty acid composition were incorporated into a reduced-energy diet (2100-3350-kJ/d deficit) for 24 weeks. Percentages of change in body weight, fat mass and intraabdominal fat area were determined. They discovered that foods containing diacylglycerol oil promoted weight loss and body fat reduction.(5) Wow. Fat that helps fat people lose fat.
6. Olive oil has been very very good to me (and you!) Yes, in a study looking at 7,368 male and female Spanish university graduates (the SUN Project), they were followed for a median period of 28.5 months. Their study showed that a high amount of olive oil consumption is not associated with higher weight gain or a significantly higher risk of developing overweight or obesity in the context of the Mediterranean food pattern.(6) So there you have it. Eat olive oil. It won't make you fat.
7. DHA is good for your brain, esp. your child's brain. The important physiological function of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) vis a vis child development has been studied. Infants whose mothers had a supplement of DHA during pregnancy and lactation had kids with better physical development, visual acuity and intelligence.(7) So if your wife is prego, give her some DHA. Your kids will be bigger and smarter.
8. In one study, four weeks of krill oil supplementation increased plasma EPA and DHA and was well tolerated, with no indication of adverse effects on safety parameters.(8) BTW, krill are those little shrimp that sea mammals love to eat.
References
1. Alper CM, Mattes RD. Peanut consumption improves indices of cardiovascular disease risk in healthy adults. J Am Coll Nutr 2003;22:133-41.
2. Tagawa T, Hirooka Y, Shimokawa H, et al. Long-term treatment with eicosapentaenoic acid improves exercise-induced vasodilation in patients with coronary artery disease. Hypertens Res 2002;25:823-9.
3. Maroon JC, Bost JW. Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) as an anti-inflammatory: an alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for discogenic pain. Surg Neurol 2006;65:326-31.
4. Timonen M, Horrobin D, Jokelainen J, Laitinen J, Herva A, Rasanen P. Fish consumption and depression: the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort study. J Affect Disord 2004;82:447-52.
5. Maki KC, Davidson MH, Tsushima R, et al. Consumption of diacylglycerol oil as part of a reduced-energy diet enhances loss of body weight and fat in comparison with consumption of a triacylglycerol control oil. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:1230-6.
6. Bes-Rastrollo M, Sanchez-Villegas A, de la Fuente C, de Irala J, Martinez JA, Martinez-Gonzalez MA. Olive oil consumption and weight change: the SUN prospective cohort study. Lipids 2006;41:249-56.
7. Meng LP, Zhang J, Zhao WH. [Relationship between maternal DHA intake and DHA status and development of fetus and infant]. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 2005;34:231-3.
8. Maki KC, Reeves MS, Farmer M, et al. Krill oil supplementation increases plasma concentrations of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids in overweight and obese men and women. Nutr Res 2009;29:609-15.
