I’m extremely confused as I’m hearing different opinions left and right both on how much fat is good to have in the diet and what kind is good. Is animal fat better than vegetable oil? Is olive oil good? Are high fat diets bad? Is keto BS? Please help me out and cite your sources, I think I’m going crazy
The truth is we don’t know for certain because as with nutrition, it is highly variable between individuals. Epidemiological studies can only tell us so much. Mechanistically, we’re still in a black box. Every other day there’s new research that goes in support and against the different types of fats.
What I think is the most robust consensus right now is that trans fats and oils used in high-temp cooking (especially deep frying), have a propensity to oxidize and become toxic. Try to minimize.
But probably the most important take away from nutrition is that moderation is what makes anything healthy (dosage makes the poison). I personally hold the view that extreme neuroticism surrounding nutrition, especially once your diet is centered around whole foods minimally processed, has a greater impact on health, wellness & longevity than trying to optimize the last 10-20% of your nutrition.
You need some fat, and specifically a few types, but the amount is pretty low compared to what most people in western society eat.
Going over the minimum threshold doesn’t appear to do harm, so you have a pretty large amount of freedom filling in your macros for a day.
I don’t have a source right now, but many hyperpalatble foods, like chocolate, ice cream, french fries and cookies are a pretty even mix of carbs (often just sugar) and fat, so it may be easier to control portions if your meals are heavier in one macro than the other.
You can’t know the “Actual truth”. Nutrition is too underdeveloped to know “The truth”. We can only speculate what’s healthier. And right now, the stance is that Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats are better for you than Saturated fats.
There are studies that show dairy and eggs are not harmful, some even show that fermented dairy is beneficial for heart.
There are also studies that show animal fats cause cardiovascular diseases.
The thing that we know for sure is that healthiest way of living is minimizing stress, processes food and increasing exercise.
Though, dietary guidelines in probably all countries tell us to limit saturated fats.
I believe animal products (fermented dairy, milk and eggs) can be consumed regularly as a part of balanced diet (whole grains, vegetables, fish, poultry, fruit, nuts, seeds…), but red meat and butter should be limited.
We don’t really know much about nutrition, because things are not the same for everyone. There is a lot of people that claim their grandparents, parents, etc. ate animal products and they lived for 80+ years with no disease.
My great grandfather used to drink whole milk every single day before sleeping, also he ate a lot of animal products, but he died at 89. He didn’t have any diseases, as far as he knew.
It really varies from person to person.
Fat as a macro is a valuable energy source.
There are three diets that actually have evidence for longevity; Traditional Japanese, Traditional Korean and Mediterranean. While all of them have different amounts of macro fat they predominantly feature PUFAs and MUFAs and limited saturated, they primarily use fish as their animal fat source.
Japanese, and to a more limited extent Korean, use limited added fat from oils. Mediterranean uses more olive oil than you will think can possibly be healthy but it appears to be.
All also feature a large variety of fruits and vegetables, all could be described as plant forward. Red meat is more often used to flavor things in small quantities rather than as a delicious browned lump. Korean & Japanese also use fermented foods.
Trans fats are always bad. They serve no function in the body and an ideal amount is 0mg.
When buying cooking oil;