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Monounsaturated fatty acids - The many health benefits
Even the late Dr Ancel Keys - the man responsible for propagating the mistaken idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease - was right about monounsaturated fats. Ancel Keys was among the first scientists who drew attention to the health value of olive oil, which is one of the richest natural sources of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). Monounsaturated fats are healthy - probably the healthiest among common oils used for cooking and human consumption. Many studies have shown that monounsaturated fats:
BUT... the mainstream health "experts" still got it wrong when it comes to recommending suitable oils for cooking. While they recommend olive oil, which is good, they also highly recommend Canola oil, which is a harmful, genetically modified food. Dr Mary Enig, a leading world authority on fats and oils, even goes so far as to write an article about Canola oil titled "The Great CON-ola", meaning the entire campaign to produce and promote Canola was a great con job. Click here to learn more about the harm of Canola oil.Another major BUT is this... monounsaturated fats should neither be taken excessively nor exclusively. If you only take monounsaturated fats and nothing else, you may be headed for trouble too. A 1998 study, by L L Rudel and others, found that mice fed a diet containing monounsaturated fats were more likely to develop atherosclerosis than mice fed a diet containing saturated fat. To avoid health problems, monounsaturated fatty acids need to be taken together with saturated fats. That's what people in traditional societies did.
An 'in-between' fat Monosaturated fatty acids are mid-way between saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. They have one double bond, whereas saturated fats have none, while polyunsaturated fats have two or more double bonds.The absence or presence of double bonds means saturated fats are highly stable while polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) are relatively stable and can withstand high temperatures, making them very suitable for all types of cooking. One indication of stability is the smoke point, which is the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down. For various monounsaturated fats, the smoke points are shown in the table on the right:
In comparison, most polyunsaturated fats have a smoke point of slighly above 200ºF, although the smoke point increases when the oils have been refined and otherwise processed. High smoke point and high stability not only means that monounsaturated (and saturated) fats are suitable for cooking. It also means that they are stable during storage and will not turn rancid easily. The table on the right shows only those monounsaturated fatty acids that are commonly used for cooking. Olive oil and Canola oil are said to be "the best". But this is only because they are used in Western cultures or, in the case of Canola oil, artificially created by scientists in Canada and most of the health literature comes from the West. Equally good, or possibly even better are the monounsaturated fats that have traditionally been used for cooking China, Japan, India and other Eastern cultures, including peanut, rice bran and sesame oils. One that deserves to be highlighted is Tea seed oil, or Camellia oil, which is popularly used for cooking as well as salad dressings and marinades in parts of China (particularly in Hunan province) as well as Japan. This is not to be confused with Teatree oil, which is a medicinal oil that is used in tiny amounts and should not be used in cooking.Another interesting case involves sunflower oil, which come in various varieties and may be either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.High linoleic sunflower oil typically has at least 69 percent linoleic acid, which is polyunsaturated. High oleic sunflower oil has at least 82 percent oleic acid, which is monounsaturated. Avocado oil and various types of nut oils - almond, hazelnut, macademia, walnut, etc - are also rich in monounsaturated fatty acids. You may not want to cook with these as they tend to be costly. But these oils have rich aromas and they make excellent salad dressings, on their own or just a dash for flavouring. Alternatively, you can enjoy the benefits of these monounsaturated fats in the form of nut butters, which make excellent spreads for bread. Or simply by eating nuts as snacks. Peanut butter is, of course, the most common - and most commonly made into a "junk food" with the addition of sugar and lots of chemical additives. Buy only those that peanut butters that contain just one or two ingredients - roasted peanut and natural sea salt. The only mass-produced pure peanut butter that I know is Adams "All Natural" Peanut Butter. Others are specialist brands made by various health food companies. These brand will also have almond, hazelnut and other nut butters. Finally, I'd like to end this article by talking about a form of monounsatured fatty acids that is widely used, yet not widely known. I find this so interesting that I think I ought to highlight the whole section in red!
Animal fats - rich in monounsaturated fatty acids
Animal fats are commonly described as saturated fats. And most people, myself included, take for granted that such a description is both accurate and correct. When you look at the composition of animal fats, however, you will be surprised! Many types of animal fat actually contain more monounsaturated fatty acids than other forms of fat. Pork lard is about 40% saturated, 48% monounsaturated, 12% polyunsatured.
Duck and goose fat are about 35% saturated, 52% monounsaturated, 13% polyunsaturated. Chicken fat is about 31% saturated, 49% monounsaturated, 20% polyunsaturated. This leaves us with only butter, beef and mutton tallow as well as suet (the fat from the cavity of the animal). Butter is about 63% saturated, beef and mutton tallow are about 50% to 55% saturated while suet is 70% to 80% saturated. Monounsaturated fatty acids make up most of the remainder, plus small amounts of polyunsaturated fats.
Traditional societies never cooked with polyunsaturated fats. This is a strange new practice introduced only in the last century. Click below to learn more about:
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