healthy fats?

WhiteWalls

Handiest and cheapest way of getting them in?

Alf Veedersane

Nuts, oily fish, avocado.

Eat, rave, sleep, repeat.

conzy

Peanut butter, eggs, butter, extra virgin olive oil

WhiteWalls

are salted peanuts any good?

Alf Veedersane

WhiteWalls wrote: »

are salted peanuts any good?

Usually best to avoid them because of the level of salt but it'll mostly depend on how much of them you eat and in the context of the level of salt you consume every day.

Davei141

If you are a rare breed of human who can eat just a small few salted peanuts then fire away, otherwise are they worth the calories is what you should be asking yourself.

Caliden

Almonds. Decent snack during work too buy only eat <10 at a time and wait a few minutes as they can be quite filling.

I get mine in Lidl, €1.70 for 200g which is half of what Tesco charge.

fat to ripped

Good peanut butter. As in, peanuts, oil and a bit of salt. NOTHING ELSE. Read the containers, half of them are mostly sugar/corn syrup and chemicals.

BigProblem

Caliden wrote: »

Almonds. Decent snack during work too buy only eat <10 at a time and wait a few minutes as they can be quite filling.

I get mine in Lidl, €1.70 for 200g which is half of what Tesco charge.

how many almonds should you eat in a day?

brianw1

Peanuts are definitely NOT something you want to be eating every day. Salted peanuts are even worse, ditch them. If you're going to eat nuts, then eat macadamias or chestnuts. Otherwise you're going to want to soak nuts like almonds overnight and remove the skins before eating. Nuts are really high in PUFAs, but the fat found in macadamias is more similar to the fat in olive oil or avocados.

Try coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, macadamias, salmon/sardines/mackerel, beef, butter, cottage cheese etc.

generic2012

Eggs are probably the cheapest but 'good' fats tend to be expensive in general. I use coconut oil because of it's high smoke point means it's good for frying unlike most other 'healthy fats' that go to ****e when they're exposed to heat and can be quite bad for you. Sometimes I take a teaspoon or two for the taste and texture, nice enough in coffee too. I take liquid cod liver oil as well, think it was €10/15 for 500ml bottle, I take 15g a day. It's high in EPA/DHA so it ends up at over 4g of EPA and DHA. I've seen dessicated coconut and flaked almond in Lidl for cheap, full of fat, could be sprinkled on food or put in to a shake and mightn't be as tempting to over eat them like the butters and oils do.

Mick Murdock

Quick question about coconut oil. How coconut-y is it if at all? Does it make everything taste like a Bounty?

silverharp

Mick Murdock wrote: »

Quick question about coconut oil. How coconut-y is it if at all? Does it make everything taste like a Bounty?

I like coconut oil but a bounty would make me gag so shouldnt put you off the oil

generic2012

silverharp wrote: »

I like coconut oil but a bounty would make me gag so shouldnt put you off the oil

Exactly what I was gonna say. Depending on how much you use and what your cooking u mightnt even taste it. Sometimes use butter with it but only on a very low heat.

Mick Murdock

I'm looking for something for cooking at high heat so will have to avoid butter. I'll give it a bash and see how it goes..it's fairly widely available is it?

brianw1

Mick Murdock wrote: »

I'm looking for something for cooking at high heat so will have to avoid butter. I'll give it a bash and see how it goes..it's fairly widely available is it?

It depends on the brand you buy, they all taste slightly different. You can get it in Tesco if I remember right. It's not in a glass bottle either, so look for a small white tub.

If you wanted, you could cook with ghee. Ghee is basically butter with the dairy removed. You heat a big stick of butter up slowly in a pot, and scrape off the top as it separates. The end product kind of looks like honey, and it's really really good for cooking

rocky

generic2012 wrote: »

Eggs are probably the cheapest but 'good' fats tend to be expensive in general. I use coconut oil because of it's high smoke point means it's good for frying unlike most other 'healthy fats' that go to ****e when they're exposed to heat and can be quite bad for you. Sometimes I take a teaspoon or two for the taste and texture, nice enough in coffee too. I take liquid cod liver oil as well, think it was €10/15 for 500ml bottle, I take 15g a day. It's high in EPA/DHA so it ends up at over 4g of EPA and DHA. I've seen dessicated coconut and flaked almond in Lidl for cheap, full of fat, could be sprinkled on food or put in to a shake and mightn't be as tempting to over eat them like the butters and oils do.

15g of fish oil a day?

generic2012

brianw1 wrote: »

Ghee is basically butter with the dairy removed.

Wut?

generic2012

rocky wrote: »

15g of fish oil a day?

Yeah, 3 teaspoons

rocky

generic2012 wrote: »

I take 15g a day. It's high in EPA/DHA so it ends up at over 4g of EPA and DHA.

generic2012 wrote: »

Yeah, 3 teaspoons

This one works out at 2.25 g EPA+DHA for 15g http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=255352647

Anyway, more is not better... some say

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/precious-yet-perilous/

generic2012

rocky wrote: »

This one works out at 2.25 g EPA+DHA for 15g http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=255352647

Anyway, more is not better... some say

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/precious-yet-perilous/

I don't use the Tesco one if that's what you mean?

Only skimmed through that article, went to the summary and didn't see anything bad apart from the title which included the word perilous. Perhaps you could sum it up for me?

I am quite familiar with the group whose website you've linked. They: are pro homoeopathy, chemophobia, and high saturated fat diets, they also say that cancer in the modern world is caused by grains in our diets and that sunlight protects from melanoma.

They are also against polyunsaturated oils, white rice, microwaves, pasteriuzed milk, fluoridated water, synthetic vitamins etc.

So I hope you just googled something along the lines of 'why fish oils are bad' or something to that effect to rationalise your own views and that you don't actually use that website as a source of 'information'.

rocky

It's Seven Seas, sold by Tesco, not Tesco's own brand.

Weston A. Price against grains? Don't think we are talking about the same organisation. Granted I haven't read all their articles, but I would sum them up as advocating traditional diets including grains.

I didn't "just google something", if you haven't heard about Chris Masterjohn you've some reading to do.

Relevant quotes from the article:

• Excess linoleic acid from vegetable oils can cause a deficiency in DHA. An excess of the omega-3 fatty acid EPA from fish and cod liver oil can cause a deficiency in arachidonic acid. For this reason, cod liver oil should be used in moderation and in combination with a diet rich in egg yolks and organ meats.
• Essential fatty acids are vulnerable to a process called oxidation, which can cause cellular damage.
• Replacing traditional animal fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils may increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and total mortality.
• One gram per day of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduces cardiovascular mortality in patients with chronic heart failure or who have recently had a heart attack. However, fish oil may increase cardiovascular and total mortality, especially when used for more than four years in combination with a standard modern diet.

• The requirement for essential fatty acids is likely to be well below 0.1 percent of calories on a diet that is devoid of refined sugar and rancid vegetable oils...

None of these trials provided any evidence that healthy people benefit from taking fish oil or that doses higher than one gram of omega-3 fatty acids per day provide any benefit over smaller doses. The results of the DART 2 trial are particularly concerning because, like the results of the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital Study (see sidebar on page 29), they suggest that high intakes of PUFAs may increase the risk of morbidity and mortality when consumed over the course of many years.

kennyb3

generic2012 wrote: »

I use coconut oil because of it's high smoke point means it's good for frying unlike most other 'healthy fats' that go to ****e when they're exposed to heat and can be quite bad for you.

Coconut oil doesn't seem to have that high a smoke point though??About 177C is quoted, the same as butter and just 17C higher than extra virgin olive oil.

Interested on your thoughts. Never sure what to use for say a fillet steak where you want the pan really hot.

generic2012

rocky wrote: »

It's Seven Seas, sold by Tesco, not Tesco's own brand.

OK, but has that to do with my consumption?

rocky wrote: »

Weston A. Price against grains? Don't think we are talking about the same organisation. Granted I haven't read all their articles, but I would sum them up as advocating traditional diets including grains.

Here's an article in their 'modern disease' section entitled 'Against the grain'.
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/against-the-grain/
Maybe it was a typo.

Perhaps they do advocate traditional diets (it depends on your definition of traditional so I can't argue you with you there) but that doesn't mean they are right about anything.

Excess linoleic acid from vegetable oils can cause a deficiency in DHA. An excess of the omega-3 fatty acid EPA from fish and cod liver oil can cause a deficiency in arachidonic acid. For this reason, cod liver oil should be used in moderation and in combination with a diet rich in egg yolks and organ meats.

I don't know where vegetable oil came out of but DHA is one of the two main components of cod liver oil, a deficiency in it is why you would take cod liver oil so I really don't understand how that was meant to help your argument. Linoleic and arachidonic acid are both omega 6 fatty acids, I don't think it is very likely anyone with the means to afford omega 3 supplementation will be deficient in them. I eat eggs anyway but that sentence doesn't supply any objective or even useful information.

Essential fatty acids are vulnerable to a process called oxidation, which can cause cellular damage

This applies to everything. Most things are vulnerable to oxidation, just because it's a big word doesn't mean it's scary. When steel is oxidised it rusts, when fat in the body is oxidised it means it's used as a fuel, when fats are oxidised they go rancid, when cooking oils are heated too much they oxidise. Oxidation just means it reacts with oxygen, nothing magic or evil. I keep my cod liver oil in a bottle in a fridge, it's not going to oxidise. They fact that the article targets only EFAs in this statement means they know they are lying and they know their target audience don't no much about science.

Replacing traditional animal fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils may increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and total mortality

Again, don't know what vegetable fats have to do with anything. You're shooting down your own argument again, cod liver oil is an animal fat. That's a contentious issue but the HFLC people who agree with that statement say it's the increase omega 6 from the vegetable fats that create these alleged increases. This increase in omega 6 can be offset by omega 3 supplementation (cod liver oil) anyway.

One gram per day of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduces cardiovascular mortality in patients with chronic heart failure or who have recently had a heart attack. However, fish oil may increase cardiovascular and total mortality, especially when used for more than four years in combination with a standard modern diet.

You do realise it says that it's good there? They didn't give a reference for the second statement (surprise surprise) a four year study is nearly certainly an epidemiological study. There is always an increase in mortality as time progresses, especially 'with a modern diet', it's known as ageing. Unreferenced information from a biased website that makes obtuse statements like that shouldn't be trusted, unless of course you're clutching at straws to back up your beliefs.

The requirement for essential fatty acids is likely to be well below 0.1 percent of calories on a diet that is devoid of refined sugar and rancid vegetable oils...

No data to back this up, just a shot in the dark really.

None of these trials provided any evidence that healthy people benefit from taking fish oil or that doses higher than one gram of omega-3 fatty acids per day provide any benefit over smaller doses. The results of the DART 2 trial are particularly concerning because, like the results of the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital Study (see sidebar on page 29), they suggest that high intakes of PUFAs may increase the risk of morbidity and mortality when consumed over the course of many years.

I don't know what 'these trials' are but you can rest assured that are plenty of other trials that do show benefit. Again morbidity and mortality will always increase over time, epidemiological studies are good for inspiring controlled studies but bad things to put any real weight on. Anyway, PUFA covers a massive amount of fats, of which EPA and DHA are only a tiny fraction, it's a bit bold of you to make that statement as an argument against cod liver oil. PUFA includes omega 6, of which the general population gets too much of but which can be offset with cod liver oil, kind of shooting down your own argument again, again.

You mightn't like the idea of taking 15 grams a day and that's all right, it's probably the reason supplement companies make the little 1 gram capsules for people that don't like the taste, but there's no need to start looking for information to say taking more than what you take is bad.

Be comfortable with yourself, don't let what other people do annoy too much and you'll get on great life. I just take it because most studies used 4 grams of EPA/DHA a day, I take 3.5 grams because it's 3 teaspoons. I know it's not perfect but I'm happy with that, I'm not going to go out looking for information to 'prove' that 4 grams is too much. Know what I'm sayin, scan?

adox

brianw1 wrote: »

Otherwise you're going to want to soak nuts like almonds overnight and remove the skins before eating. Nuts are really high in PUFAs, but the fat found in macadamias is more similar to the fat in olive oil or avocados.

Why would you want to soak almonds and remove their skin?

rocky

Depending on your diet, you mightn't even need Omega 3 supplementation. If you feel the need to take so much, maybe this is a symptom of something else wrong in your diet e.g. are you trying to 'balance' the omega 6?

I don't care either way how much you supplement, only putting it out there that 4g EPA/DHA daily might not be recommended for everybody.

That's all I had to contribute - good luck with your goals.