BUTTER NOT BITTER
Your
toast needn’t be dry. Experts bust the saturated fat-heart
disease myth
Aloo
parathas, toast and Belgium waffles — some things always taste better with
butter. Which is probably why you have given up on them altogether.
For decades now, butter, high in saturated fats, has been associated with clogged arteries. However, a recent meta-analysis research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded: “There is no convincing evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease.”
While physicians in India wouldn’t go that far, they do agree that saturated fat isn’t the big enemy of the healthy heart that it was once believed to be. Dr Haresh Mehta, interventional cardiologist at P D Hinduja Hospital, says, “While saturated fats are known to increase the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which adds plaque to artery walls and ups risk of heart attack, they also increase levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, which is instrumental in removing the plaque. This detail isn’t widely known. Saturated fats thus get a bad name, even though, technically they don’t harm the body if consumed in moderation.”
BUTTER UP YOUR BODY
If anything, experts say the body needs its daily limited dose of fat. Saturated fat is important for vital body functions, including one that lends cell membranes their structure. They are also important for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins including A, D, E and K into the bloodstream. Dr Sachin Bhonsle, orthopaedic surgeon at Fortis Hospital, says, “These vitamins in turn facilitate the absorption of calcium, which promotes bone and teeth health.”
Saturated fats have antimicrobial and antiviral properties, which are great for giving your immune system a boost. They also protect the liver from harmful effects of antibiotics and alcohol.
The lungs are another benefactor. The airspaces in the lungs are coated with a thin layer of lung surfactant which is made of 100 per cent saturated fats. Depletion of this layer is known to result in breathing difficulties.
BUT, SPREAD IT THIN
Doctors caution: do it, just don’t overdo it. Good or bad fats — they all need to be had in moderation, as per the body’s need, not want.
Nutritionist Anju Venkat says that 15 to 20 per cent of energy that a person consumes per day should come from fats. Another 20 to 25 per cent should come from proteins, and 40 to 60 per cent from carbohydrates.
“Fats are essential for energy production. Certain fats, which contain medium-chain fatty acids (ghee, coconut oil) and short-chain fatty acids (all naturally-occurring fats including nuts) are easily absorbed by the body. However, fats containing long-chain fatty acids, such as butter, although essential, take longer to get absorbed. Therefore, the latter should be had in moderation,” suggests Venkat.
Dr Dev Pahlajani, interventional cardiologist at Breach Candy Hospital, recommends breaking down even the 15-20 per cent fat. “Around 25 per cent of the fats you have every day should come from saturated fats (which means you can have some butter along with your toast in the morning), and the remaining can come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats,” he adds. Dr Pahlajani says it is the HDL/ LDL ratio which is a better predictor of future heart disease rather than LDL alone. “Saturated fats must be had in balance along with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats which are found in groundnut oil, nuts, avocados and olives.”
AND REMEMBER…
What is a strict no-no are transfats — responsible for raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol. There is no safe level of transfats. While transfats occur naturally in meat, they are mainly found in packaged products like fried chicken and potatoes, packaged foods such as cake mixes and soups, spreads, chips and crackers, cookies and candies. Transfats are artificially created in the laboratory to provide cheap alternatives to butter. Food chemists found that they could solidify vegetable oil by heating it in the presence of hydrogen. As a result, the structure of polyunsaturated fat (a good fat) becomes more like saturated fat. Thus, solid vegetable fats such as margarine came into being. Now, transfats are found not only in solid foods such as these, but also in foods that contain “partially hydrogenated oil”.
For decades now, butter, high in saturated fats, has been associated with clogged arteries. However, a recent meta-analysis research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded: “There is no convincing evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease.”
While physicians in India wouldn’t go that far, they do agree that saturated fat isn’t the big enemy of the healthy heart that it was once believed to be. Dr Haresh Mehta, interventional cardiologist at P D Hinduja Hospital, says, “While saturated fats are known to increase the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which adds plaque to artery walls and ups risk of heart attack, they also increase levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, which is instrumental in removing the plaque. This detail isn’t widely known. Saturated fats thus get a bad name, even though, technically they don’t harm the body if consumed in moderation.”
BUTTER UP YOUR BODY
If anything, experts say the body needs its daily limited dose of fat. Saturated fat is important for vital body functions, including one that lends cell membranes their structure. They are also important for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins including A, D, E and K into the bloodstream. Dr Sachin Bhonsle, orthopaedic surgeon at Fortis Hospital, says, “These vitamins in turn facilitate the absorption of calcium, which promotes bone and teeth health.”
Saturated fats have antimicrobial and antiviral properties, which are great for giving your immune system a boost. They also protect the liver from harmful effects of antibiotics and alcohol.
The lungs are another benefactor. The airspaces in the lungs are coated with a thin layer of lung surfactant which is made of 100 per cent saturated fats. Depletion of this layer is known to result in breathing difficulties.
BUT, SPREAD IT THIN
Doctors caution: do it, just don’t overdo it. Good or bad fats — they all need to be had in moderation, as per the body’s need, not want.
Nutritionist Anju Venkat says that 15 to 20 per cent of energy that a person consumes per day should come from fats. Another 20 to 25 per cent should come from proteins, and 40 to 60 per cent from carbohydrates.
“Fats are essential for energy production. Certain fats, which contain medium-chain fatty acids (ghee, coconut oil) and short-chain fatty acids (all naturally-occurring fats including nuts) are easily absorbed by the body. However, fats containing long-chain fatty acids, such as butter, although essential, take longer to get absorbed. Therefore, the latter should be had in moderation,” suggests Venkat.
Dr Dev Pahlajani, interventional cardiologist at Breach Candy Hospital, recommends breaking down even the 15-20 per cent fat. “Around 25 per cent of the fats you have every day should come from saturated fats (which means you can have some butter along with your toast in the morning), and the remaining can come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats,” he adds. Dr Pahlajani says it is the HDL/ LDL ratio which is a better predictor of future heart disease rather than LDL alone. “Saturated fats must be had in balance along with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats which are found in groundnut oil, nuts, avocados and olives.”
AND REMEMBER…
What is a strict no-no are transfats — responsible for raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol. There is no safe level of transfats. While transfats occur naturally in meat, they are mainly found in packaged products like fried chicken and potatoes, packaged foods such as cake mixes and soups, spreads, chips and crackers, cookies and candies. Transfats are artificially created in the laboratory to provide cheap alternatives to butter. Food chemists found that they could solidify vegetable oil by heating it in the presence of hydrogen. As a result, the structure of polyunsaturated fat (a good fat) becomes more like saturated fat. Thus, solid vegetable fats such as margarine came into being. Now, transfats are found not only in solid foods such as these, but also in foods that contain “partially hydrogenated oil”.
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