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New Paradigm Emerges on Fat Intake

By Marilyn D. Schorin, PhD, RDN, CFS, FAND

“Eat less fat.” That was the mantra of the health care community for much of the last fifty years.  Recently, however, a new paradigm has emerged in which very low fat intake is not the goal of heart-healthy diets. The focus today is to eat a moderate amount of fat – about 25%-35% of calories – with the emphasis on unsaturated fats.

The American Heart Association issued updated recommendations in 20131 with this advice: They urge Americans to get no more than 5%-6% of calories from saturated fat and less than 1% of calories from trans fat. Saturated fats are found primarily in animal foods – meat, whole milk, cheese, and butter and tropical oils like coconut oil and palm oil. Trans fats are found mostly in partially-hydrogenated oils (PHO).

The food industry undertook a substantial effort to reformulate and remove trans fat containing products when the adverse health effects were discovered and the FDA added mandatory declaration of trans fat to the food label (2006).  However, some food products like pies and cakes get their texture or flakiness from either saturated fats or PHO.  Food scientists are continually experimenting with ways to reduce the levels of these fats.

Monounsaturated fats (MUFA), particularly oleic acid, help lower serum cholesterol levels, especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), without lowering beneficial high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).  Found naturally in olive oil and peanut oil, oleic acid has now been bred into new soybean varieties.  High-oleic soy oil and other MUFA are replacing PHO to both increase oil stability during deep-frying and improve the ratio of healthful fats to saturated/trans fat in American diets.

Some polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) serve as essential nutrients because the body cannot synthesize them. These fatty acids serve as precursors for a variety of prostaglandins and thromboxanes, collectively called eicosanoids. Eicosanoids help regulate a host of critical functions, including the inflammatory response, smooth muscle contraction, renal function, and maintenance of blood platelets.

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, is converted in the body to eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA).  Good sources of ALA include walnuts, vegetable oils such as soy, canola, and flaxseed.  Good sources of EPA and DHA are fish and organ meats.

Linoleic acid (LA), a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid, is converted in the body to arachidonic acid.  LA is abundant in many vegetable oils (e.g. soy, corn safflower). The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is not known, but the current diet provides about 10 times the amount of omega-6 fatty acids.

For those wishing to lose weight, moderation in total fat, especially saturated fat, helps to maintain diet quality.

Source; USDA2,3

References

1. Eckel RH, Jakicic JM, Ard JD, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC Guideline on lifestyle management to reduce cardiovascular risk: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2013.  Available at  http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2013/11/11/01.cir.0000437740.48606.d1.citation. Published online November 12, 2013.

2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2014. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl. Accessed Sept. 19, 2014.

3. http://www.plenish.com/Libraries/Resources/Plenish_High_Oleic_Soybean_Oil_Technical_Data.sflb.ashx. Accessed Sept. 21, 2014.

About the Author

Marilyn Schorin, PhD, heads Schorin Strategies, LLC. Previously she served as chief nutrition and regulator officer for Yum Brands, Inc., where she crafted a strategy to replace trans-fat containing shortening used at KFC and other Yu Brands restaurants. Prior to that, she was senior manager for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for The Pepsi-Cola Company. She is immediate past chair of the Food and Nutrition Science Solutions Task Force, a collaboration among four professional societies and was president of Food Update Foundation (2008-9). She served on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) for North America. She founded the Sports and Cardiovascular Nutrition Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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