Fat: sources and balance

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

a related and very interesting read on all this

Unsaturated fatty acids: Nutritionally essential, or toxic?

Intersting read.

My view on the whole EFA/PUFA debate is that as they weren't available in any great amount on the African savanna 50,000 years ago they can't be all that essential therefore using them in large amounts is bound to have some negative health consequences. That said I do take a small amount of fish oil most days so I am kind of hedging my bets a little on this one.

[Craig Loizides]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

a related and very interesting read on all this

Unsaturated fatty acids: Nutritionally essential, or toxic?

Great article. I've read a few similar articles recently on the dangers of PUFA. I thought the most interesting part was about how the benefits of CR come from improved mitochondrial action and can be duplicated with a low PUFA diet. Also, the link between PUFA and hibernation was interesting.

[Liam Dougherty Springer]

Alright I am really happy with where this has taken me my quest for comfort in fat consomtion is being appeased.

I primarily eat omega three eggs, wild fish, and grass fed beef for my animal fat. Fowever I love welshire farms dry rubbed center cut bacon. I have seen some posts about cooking with bacon fat and recieved a cool link which delivered me some info on Lard.

Would it really be a good thing to use the bacon fat as a food?
If so how much is too much?

And what about turkey Lamb and Duck?

Any one got an opinion or link?

[Scott Kustes]

How often are you eating bacon? I like the Welshire Farms brand too. Other than a boatload of sodium, I'd consider it a pretty benign cheat. It's meat and fat. I'd assume the pigs aren't pastured however, so the fat may be storing some toxins/antibiotics and such. If you could get bacon from a local farmer, I wouldn't think there's any problem with cooking in bacon fat other than that everything you cook is going to taste exceptionally awesome.

Turkey, lamb, and duck fat also seem fine to me, so long as they're properly raised. Our ancestors relished fat and I think most people here are also rather liberal with their fat intake.

[Liam Dougherty Springer]

Originally Posted by Scott Kustes

How often are you eating bacon? I like the Welshire Farms brand too. Other than a boatload of sodium, I'd consider it a pretty benign cheat. It's meat and fat. I'd assume the pigs aren't pastured however, so the fat may be storing some toxins/antibiotics and such. If you could get bacon from a local farmer, I wouldn't think there's any problem with cooking in bacon fat other than that everything you cook is going to taste exceptionally awesome.

Turkey, lamb, and duck fat also seem fine to me, so long as they're properly raised. Our ancestors relished fat and I think most people here are also rather liberal with their fat intake.

I eat the bacon about once a week or less up until just recently. For the past coupl weeks I have eaten about 1/3 of a pound a week. I also sometimes use fresh grease for cooking. I also have very little sodium in the rest of my diet. However I am going to look into some localy raised products

How do I know If the lamb or duck is well raised?

I have noticed when using rendered duck fat in cooking (removing the skin and fat from a duck then cooking them into grease) the duck fat will remain completely liquid and rather transparent at room temperature. Then it akes quite a while to begin to become clouded and finaly solid in the fridge and even cold never completely does become as solid as bacon grease is at room temperature. I figure this is a good sign of low saturated fat and high MUSFA.

[Scott Kustes]

Yes, that would indicate a higher MUFA content. Whether that's a good sign is up to your individual preference for saturated fat. I prefer to cook in saturated fats.

Knowing whether they're properly raised is usually a matter of finding a local farmer and discussing their rearing with him. It typically means minimization of antibiotics and hormones only to treat truly sick animals and feeding them a diet close to their natural diet, for instance grass for sheep. I don't know the diet of ducks, but I imagine it's similar to chickens and turkeys...grass, bugs, etc, possibly supplemented with a bit of grain.

[Liam Dougherty Springer]

Originally Posted by Scott Kustes

Yes, that would indicate a higher MUFA content. Whether that's a good sign is up to your individual preference for saturated fat. I prefer to cook in saturated fats.

Knowing whether they're properly raised is usually a matter of finding a local farmer and discussing their rearing with him. It typically means minimization of antibiotics and hormones only to treat truly sick animals and feeding them a diet close to their natural diet, for instance grass for sheep. I don't know the diet of ducks, but I imagine it's similar to chickens and turkeys...grass, bugs, etc, possibly supplemented with a bit of grain.

Thanks I figured I would need to do some real foraging for good sources but thats good.

I cook with coocnut oil sometimes as I understand it is rather resistant to a fairly high temperature. By saturated atts did you mean animal fats. I love the cooking wth animal fats, however I have read some information on the formation of free radicals in over heated animal fats that made me think it was not a good idea.

Whats your take on the heat and animal fat issue?

[Scott Kustes]

By saturated fats I mean saturated fats, be they coconut oil, palm oil, lard, tallow, or some other animal fat. I don't know that cooking in animal fat is any worse than coconut oil or others, but I haven't researched the topic either.

[Liam Dougherty Springer]

I am much further in my journy to discovering the key to the mystery of fat sources and balance.I have redently finished both the first Zone book and Dr. Cordins Paleolithic Diet book(It only took me 8 years from the first time it was recomended). They both haelped me get a clearer idea of the basics.
The links offered from this thread have greatly expanded upon the information offered in the books.

I do have one more question. I have increased my use of EVOO and decreased my use of nuts and nut oils, and begun using beef and bison (both entirely pasture fed on a local farm) fat rendered from cuts of meet in my cooking and only Omega 3 egg yolks.

However when I do eat fatty cuts of foul or non grazed animals would takeing fish oil along with the meal allow the omega balance to remain beneficial?

For instance I just love bacon, lamb and duck (lamb and duck I eat verry rarely). I will look for local grazing farms or wild game sources but it seems to me that a high quality fish oil would supplement the Omega 3s lacking in the animal I am consuming.

On a similar note it seems that having sufficiant levels of EPA and DHA in a diet would help to check the problems regarding the negative effects of linolic acid on the processing of ALA by the liver.

Just some thoughts if anyone can expand my undrstanding please feel free.

[Brian Shanks]

I am wondering if I should be feeling stupid right now.
I read the article MOD posted and I am wondering if my understanding of it is right.

I also started reading another of Peat's articles and it really makes me wonder about the fish oil I consume.

I even have my 4 year old taking fish oil. I read a lot of the studies on the benefits of fish oil and of all the studies I read, the only negative affect I read about was the possibility of thinning the blood.

So I guess my question is, is it mainly the Omega 3s in fish oil that are bad, or are the ones get naturally through grass fed beef, eggs, ect the same?
Are all Omega 3s created equally?

Or is this just one man's opinion?

Thanks

Bry