Fact or Fiction on fat!

I'm pretty sure it's been known for quite a long time that
monounsaturated fats are healthiest, not polyunsaturated ones. I was
in junior college... like 20 years ago...and it was common knowledge
then - least for chemistry majors.

Because polyunsaturated fats were *marketed* as healthiest,
manufacturers hydrogenated oils to make them more polyunsaturated.
This is where most trans fats come from (tiny amounts exist naturally
too). We now know trans fats are unsafe and unhealthy - very bad
stuff.

So... basically, the manufactured oils and margarines and such are way
worse than even saturated fat. So... lard and bacon grease and such
are healthier than most margarines.

Further, there are a number of essential fatty acids that are a
requirement for life and health. If you don't like oily fish (I
don't), you should add some flax meal or oil (keep refrigerated to
prevent rancidity) and ALA or such to your diet.

I'm a tad confused how you wound up on a low-carb diet with all the
misconceptions about fat you post. Have you read any of the low-carb
books?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

I'm pretty sure it's been known for quite a long time that
monounsaturated fats are healthiest, not polyunsaturated ones. I was
in junior college... like 20 years ago...and it was common knowledge
then - least for chemistry majors.

Because polyunsaturated fats were *marketed* as healthiest,
manufacturers hydrogenated oils to make them more polyunsaturated.

It's been a long time since I posted to this newsgroup - been lurking in
the meantime - but I can't let this one go by...

Hydrogenation does the exact *opposite* of what you say: it artificially
adds hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules to make it more *saturated* -
NOT more polyunsaturated! This artificial saturation results in a
product that is more stable and has better shelf life and improves the
texture and "mouth feel" of the oils. It also, as you said, changes the
fat molecule from a "cis" configuration to a "trans" configuration, in
essence straightening the molecule out to a flat form that packs better
and tends to have more solidity, which is desirable for "food products"
like margarine and vegetable shortening.

Check out some of Dr. Mary Enig's excellent articles on the subject of
saturated fats, vegetables oils, and trans fats on the Weston A. Price
website: http://www.westonaprice.org/splash_2.htm

[SNIP]

Quoted message said:

I'm a tad confused how you wound up on a low-carb diet with all the
misconceptions about fat you post.

I must have missed something along the way. What are this poster's
misconceptions?

--
Stan Marks

A waist is a terrible thing to mind.

<[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

I'm a tad confused how you wound up on a low-carb diet with all the
misconceptions about fat you post. Have you read any of the low-carb
books?

I read the original Atkins 3 years ago, but most of the info has slipped my
mind except for the high carbs bit!

I just mostly stick with real food and I do ok with this!

--
LC again since 1/14/06
277/264/220

Stan Marks said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

I'm pretty sure it's been known for quite a long time that
monounsaturated fats are healthiest, not polyunsaturated ones. I was
in junior college... like 20 years ago...and it was common knowledge
then - least for chemistry majors.

Because polyunsaturated fats were *marketed* as healthiest,
manufacturers hydrogenated oils to make them more polyunsaturated.

It's been a long time since I posted to this newsgroup - been lurking
in the meantime - but I can't let this one go by...

Hydrogenation does the exact *opposite* of what you say: it
artificially adds hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules to make it more
*saturated* - NOT more polyunsaturated! This artificial saturation
results in a product that is more stable and has better shelf life
and improves the texture and "mouth feel" of the oils. It also, as
you said, changes the fat molecule from a "cis" configuration to a
"trans" configuration, in essence straightening the molecule out to a
flat form that packs better and tends to have more solidity, which is
desirable for "food products" like margarine and vegetable shortening.

Check out some of Dr. Mary Enig's excellent articles on the subject of
saturated fats, vegetables oils, and trans fats on the Weston A. Price
website: http://www.westonaprice.org/splash_2.htm

<snip>

I thoroughly agree with you referencing this invaluable site. I have
been interested in the writings of Mary Enig and Sally Fallon and the
work of Weston Price for some time.

Another excellent resource is www.theomnivore.com developed by a fellow
Aussie.

--
All the best,
Pete

------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://users.bigpond.com/lansma
Location: 42°53'S; 147°19'E

DB said:

Quoted message said:

I'm a tad confused how you wound up on a low-carb diet with all the
misconceptions about fat you post. Have you read any of the low-carb
books?

I read the original Atkins 3 years ago

The original 1972 book was pretty old by 2003. Each of the 1972,
1993, 1999 and 2003 editions introduces its own problems but
each also fixes enough of the problems from the older editions
that its better than the older ones. Having read the 1972 edition
I suggest reading the 2003 one. Or if you mean the one that was
current in 2003 I suggest reading the real original one.

Quoted message said:

I just mostly stick with real food and I do ok with this!

Good starting point.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Pete said:

Another excellent resource is www.theomnivore.com developed by a fellow
Aussie.

Yes, I'm very familiar with Tony Colpo's Omnivore website. An invaluable
resource!

--
Stan Marks

A waist is a terrible thing to mind.

Stan Marks said:

Hydrogenation does the exact *opposite* of what you say: it artificially
adds hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules to make it more *saturated* -
NOT more polyunsaturated! This artificial saturation results in a
product that is more stable and has better shelf life and improves the
texture and "mouth feel" of the oils. It also, as you said, changes the
fat molecule from a "cis" configuration to a "trans" configuration, in
essence straightening the molecule out to a flat form that packs better
and tends to have more solidity, which is desirable for "food products"
like margarine and vegetable shortening.

You're correct; my mistake.

Quoted message said:

I must have missed something along the way. What are this poster's
misconceptions?

Well, there were several different threads where he seemed to be
spazzing about fat being bad, bad, bad!

Since then I read a post in another thread where he rants about how bad
it is to read a book about low-carb, and posted an "obvious" all meat
and cheese menu he came up with without the benefit of any books. So
apparently my supposition here that he has never read a basic low-carb
book is correct.