{"id":445,"date":"2011-08-28T18:08:32","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T01:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.engrevo.com\/blog\/?p=445"},"modified":"2011-08-29T17:54:22","modified_gmt":"2011-08-30T00:54:22","slug":"quick-fat-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.engrevo.com\/blog\/quick-fat-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick Fat Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few months ago, I was pointed to primalmeded<\/a> – a burgeoning blog in this here paleosphere.<\/p>\n

Regretfully, I just added her to my rss reader and let the posts pile up (oops). Well I just got around to reading some of her stuff today, and am quite impressed. Ok, that’s enough pumping the tires.<\/p>\n

After reading her wonderful two-part series on fat (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>), I thought I’d drop by and highlight a few points made.<\/p>\n

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  1. We store extra energy as saturated fat (except a relatively small amount of glycogen). If our bodies store it as such, it can’t be unhealthy.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. As we know, MCTs (a saturated fat) provide quick energy<\/a>. They also promote ketosis, and make up a substantial portion of breastmilk. If evolution points our babies toward ketosis, it’s probably not unhealthy.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Bacteria in our guts ferment soluble fiber (like that found in apples and berries), yielding Butyric acid (a saturated fat) for our use as energy. If our symbiotic intestinal tenants give us saturated fat (when we eat plant foods that even the USDA calls healthy), it’s probably not unhealthy.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Plant sources of Omega-3 don’t get the job done.<\/strong> (Chris Kresser has highlighted this<\/a> in the past.)<\/li>\n
  5. We probably shouldn’t supplement PUFA (even fish oil).<\/strong> Or as she puts it, “Supplementing with artificial sources may just be akin to playing with fire.”<\/em> [I’ll note that I take Cod Liver Oil – but try to get High-Vitamin or Fermented to maximize micronutrient:PUFA ratio.]<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    She also details the reasoning behind the oft-stressed recommendation that n3:n6 be consumed in some certain ratio (1:1 or 1:2…etc.).<\/p>\n

    One more thing to add to our little diagram is the enzymes which actually perform the conversion\u00c2\u00a0of short chain PUFA\u00c2\u00a0to long chain PUFA. Both families, omega-3 and omega-6,\u00c2\u00a0use the same enzymes and therefore they are in competition for them<\/em><\/strong>. Too much of the members of one family will interfere with the functioning of the other family. This is where the concept of a healthy 3:6 ratio comes from. High concentration of LA suppresses the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA. On the other hand too much EPA can cause AA deficiency.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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    My questions to you (reader) are as follows:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n