Healthy Fats: Why Nuts Are Not All They're Cracked Up to Be

from Courtney Meyerhofer

Healthy fats.

What comes to mind? Olive oil, nuts, avocado, seeds.

There’s a fair bit of propaganda that has demonized many traditional saturated fats like butter, lard, tallow, cream, coconut oil or fattier meats like bacon and sausage.

In addition to propaganda, there are a variety of fad diets that exclude dairy or saturated fat altogether, instead replacing them with nut products like almond and nut flours, almond and nut milks, almond and nut cheese, etc.

However, it wasn’t long ago that people commonly ate much more saturated fat than they do today, and they lived healthier, longer lives.

Saturated Fat in Traditional Cultures

Weston A. Price, a 20th century dentist, observed cultures without access to processed foods, and he determined that, as a consequence, these peoples had far superior health in comparison to modern Westerners. He traveled the globe and studied primitive cultures in an effort to restore knowledge lost in industrialized societies.

The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) is dedicated to educating people today about how to use traditional foods and therapies to heal from the diseases of modernity, using the diet of our pre-industrialized ancestors.

The WAPF has digested Price’s work and synthesized 11 principles to help guide our dietary choices.

This article is the seventh in a series to address and add context to each of the principles. The seventh principle of the Weston A. Price Foundation’s “Principles of Traditional Diets” states:

“Total fat content of traditional diets varies from 30 percent to 80 percent of calories but only about 4 percent of calories come from polyunsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains, legumes, nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of fat calories is in the form of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.”

— Weston A. Price Foundation

The traditional peoples had far less polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in their diets. Today, with modern engineered food like seed oils and nut-everything, the average person consumes more PUFAs than they do saturated fats.

Saturated Fat & Cholesterol is Essential

While many public institutions disagree, cholesterol is likely an essential nutrient. The cellular membrane around each of our cells that makes it permeable is made of cholesterol, and while some argue that we can create our own cholesterol, that ability appears to be caused by genetics. Meaning, some people are less able to create their own cholesterol and therefore must consume it.

Our immune system depends on saturated fat, and saturated fat lowers lipoprotein-a Lp(a), an indicator of heart disease.

The Problem with PUFAs

Excessive PUFA consumption is known to cause:

• Lower thyroid function (slower metabolism)

• Oxidative stress (they are highly reactive)

• Insulin resistance 

The polyunsaturated fats in nuts, seeds, and grains are a naturally occurring protection by the plant to prevent predation and protect its genetic code from freezing winters. These protective fatty acids prevent animals from being able to digest the seed or nut so that it can propagate and create more plants like itself.

The element that is protective to the seed is toxic and harmful to the human, especially when consumed without moderation or awareness of seasonality in the form of nut butters, flours, milks, etc.

“Polyunsaturated oils defend the seeds from the animals that would eat them, the oils block the digestive enzymes in the animals’ stomachs. In addition, seeds and nuts are designed to germinate in early spring, so their energy stores must be accessible when the temperatures are cool, and they normally don’t have to remain viable through the hot summer months.

Unsaturated oils are liquid when they are cold, and this is necessary for any organism that lives at low temperatures. These oils easily get rancid (spontaneously oxidizing) when they are warm and exposed to oxygen. When the oils are stored in our tissues, they are much warmer, and more directly exposed to oxygen, than they would be in the seeds, and so their tendency to oxidize is very great. These oxidative processes can damage enzymes and other parts of cells, and especially their ability to produce energy (cellular respiration).
”

— Dr. Ray Peat

You may want to reconsider how much and what type of seeds and nuts you consume. These should be consumed in moderation instead of as a primary protein or fat source in the diet.

Instead of:

Foods High in PUFAs

• Seed oils (soy, corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, rapeseed oils, cottonseed, margarine)

• Almonds

• Sunflower seeds

• Chia seeds

• Pumpkin seeds

• Flax seeds

• Sesame seeds

• Pistachios

• Pine nuts

• Walnuts

• Pecans

• Brazile nuts

• Peanuts

Try:

Foods with Nutrient-Dense Saturated Fats

• Cream

• Butter

• Egg yolks

• Tallow

• Lard

• Ghee

• Coconut oil

• Palm oil

• Cheese

• Grass fed dairy

• Grass fed meats and organs

• Avocado oil
  

PUFAs and Grass Fed Beef

Grass fed beef is very low in PUFAs compared to grain fed beef because grass fed cattle are not fed high-PUFA foods, like soy and corn products.

Enjoy saturated fats! They’re delicious, and they do so much for your body.

Recommended Reading

PUFA-Aware Guide

Many Dangers of Excess PUFA Consumption

Fats and Degeneration

Principles of Traditional Diets: Avoiding Processed Foods and the Menace of Seed Oils

Consuming processed foods is a real problem in the United States, especially when it comes to what our kids are eating. The latest research shows that children and adolescents aged 2-19 get a whopping 67% of their calories from ultra-processed, nutrient-poor foods.

Additionally, the 20 year study found:

“The greatest increase in calories came from ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals such as pizza, sandwiches and hamburgers, rising to 11.2% of calories from 2.2%. Packaged sweet snacks and treats such as cakes and ice cream were a runner-up, which made up 12.9% of calorie consumption in 2018, compared with 10.6% in 1999.”

We know processed food is a problem, and “avoid processed food” is common health advice for those seeking to lose weight or improve overall health. However, this advice may be too open to interpretation. What exactly is processed food? Which ones should we avoid? We’ve all heard to avoid added sugars, but what other ingredients are we consuming that have ill effects on our health?

Weston A. Price, a 20th century dentist, observed cultures without access to processed foods, and he determined that, as a consequence, these peoples had far superior health in comparison to modern Westerners. He traveled the globe and studied primitive cultures in an effort to restore knowledge lost in industrialized societies. The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) is dedicated to educating people today about how to use traditional foods and therapies to heal from the diseases of modernity, using the diet of our pre-industrialized ancestors.

The WAPF has digested Price’s work and synthesized 11 principles to help guide our dietary choices. This article is the first in a series to address and add context to each of the principles. The first principle of the Weston A. Price Foundation’s “Principles of Traditional Diets” states:

“The diets of healthy, nonindustrialized peoples contain no refined or denatured foods or ingredients, such as refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurized, homogenized, skim or lowfat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; synthetic vitamins; or toxic additives and artificial colorings.”

— Weston A. Price Foundation

It’s no surprise that “refined foods”, “sugar”, and “high fructose corn syrup” are among the first to be named, but many readers may be surprised to see “white flour”, “pasteurized, homogenized milk”, “protein powders”, and “vegetable oils” to make the naughty list. These ingredients are incredibly commonplace in the packaged food supply, and avoiding them requires extra care. However, it is certainly worth the hassle.

What is the impact of processed foods?

Processed foods are everywhere, and in our busy lifestyles, avoiding them can feel challenging because many of our favorite convenience foods can be classified as “ultra-processed”. The impact of processed foods cannot be overstated.

Heavily processed foods have been shown to:

• Be addictive

• Raise LDL cholesterol

• Raise blood pressure

• Contribute to obesity

• Increase risk of cancer and death

• Increase risk of depression and mental health disorders

• Contribute to behavioral and attention problems in children

Benefits of Avoiding Processed Foods:

• Cut empty calories

• Have fewer acute illnesses and colds

• Have fewer days off from work

• Lower risk for chronic disease

• Room for more nutrient dense food in diet

• Enjoy simple, natural flavors

• Live longer

• Avoid artificial ingredients

Types of Processed Foods

There is a spectrum of processing when it comes to the term “processed foods”. Some foods must be processed for us to properly eat them, such as cleaning, chopping, peeling, soaking, cooking, and grinding. Many foods, usually deemed “snack foods” like cookies, cakes, sodas, and chips are obviously processed, and most health-conscious folks know to avoid them.

Other common foods that are processed but not considered “processed foods” include milk and seed oils.

Ultra-processed foods:

• Cookies

• Cakes

• Most snack foods

• Sodas

• Chips

• Hydrogenated oils and spreads

• Pizza 

Processed foods:

• Milk (pasteurization, homogenization, skimming fat)

• Seed oils

• Bread and bread products (muffins, tortillas, etc.)

• Microwave / ready meals

• Breakfast cereals

• Processed meats like lunch meats, sausages, bacon, and salami

Ultra-processed foods include many of our favorite foods. They’re our favorites because they are quite literally engineered to be addictive. 

Menace of Our Food Supply: Industrial Seed Oils

As Americans. we’ve not been warned enough about the dangers of consuming industrial seed oils. Seed oils, called the “hateful eight”, include soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, and rice bran oil. These oils are used in most processed foods because they are cheap, tasteless, and have a long shelf life.

A quick scan of food labels in your pantry and their ubiquity will surprise you.

Soybean oil and canola oil are the most commonly used seed oils in processed foods, and rice bran oil is most frequently used in restaurants. Seed oils are dangerous because the extraction, deodorizing, and bleaching process requires a significant amount of heat that causes the oil to become oxidized, creating dangerous free radicals and other byproducts that are harmful to human health.

Seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which is known to overstimulate inflammatory processes in our bodies, increase LDL cholesterol, and contribute to the development of heart disease.

Many seed oils, called “vegetable oils”, are promoted by the USDA’s nutrition guidelines for their heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids and their low saturated fat content. However, seed oils have not been in the human diet for very long. Traditionally, fats have included butter and ghee, tallow (beef fat), lard (pork fat), coconut oil, and olive oil.

This “How It’s Made” video shows the lengthy industrial process required to produce canola oil. The seed is ground up, heated, extracted, and the final oil is bleached and deodorized to remove smell and taste. In contrast, making butter involves milking a cow and churning cream or making tallow requires melting and straining beef fat. The simplicity of the traditional fat is intuitively more aligned with the design of nature than the engineered oil.

Finally, heating seed oils during cooking produces trans fats and lipid peroxides. Trans fats are famous for being a major culprit contributing to heart disease, and lipid peroxides are a byproduct that damage DNA and cellular membranes, creating an environment for inflammation and chronic disease.

How to Use Traditional Fats

Saint John’s cows hard at work transforming hay into conjugated linoleic acid!

Processed foods and industrial seed oils are problematic foods, and making them a part of our regular diet has consequences we simply can’t ignore. Here’s what we can do instead.

Grass fed tallow is a nutrient-rich fat that is wonderful to cook with because it doesn’t oxidize at high cooking temperatures.

Tallow made from grass fed beef fat is:

• A rich source of anti-inflammatory conjugated linoleic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid)

• Abundant source of minerals

• Excellent source of vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12

Tallow is great of cooking by sauteing, frying, and your cast iron skillets will love it! It’s also wonderful applied topically to the skin. Check out our guide to rendering tallow from our organic, grass fed beef fat.

Switching most of our diet to whole, unprocessed foods is a radical step every person can take toward feeling fullness of vitality and lengthening and improving their lives. Starting with traditional fats like tallow is an excellent starting point in nourishing ourselves!