Normal human consumption of polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) are around 1 to 2 percent. Most people in developed nations have stored fats in the 20 to 40 range for PUFA.
When we make fat ourselves (due to excess calories) it is stored as saturated fat. Saturated fats are single carbon chains with no double bonds so they are extremely stable. Butter and tallow will not rancidify. They won't oxidize or glycate within the body either.
We can also make mono-unsaturated fat from saturated fat within our bodies as needed (SCD1 enzyme). It is not as stable as saturated fat but still needed for membrane flexibility and other mechanisms.
PUFA have multiple double bonds and are highly unstable, both outside our bodies and inside. Extremely prone to oxidation/glycation.
We have no mechanism to create PUFA within our bodies. If it was needed that function would exist.
All of our cells are made from the fatty acids that they have available. Membranes are made of fat (lipid bilayer) and even more important our mitochondrial membranes are made from these fats. When the vital structure in our mitochondria called cardiolipin are made exclusively from PUFA (all 4 fatty acids) they are extremely vulnerable.
On a macro scale, people who limit PUFA consumption to an ancestral level (below 4%) are almost immune to sunburn and resilient to normal burns. Sunlight (UV primarily) easily breaks down our cell membranes if they are constructed of PUFA. The byproducts of this breakdown (4-HNE, MDA, 13-HOD and many others) are very poisonous. 4-HNE for example attacks our P53 anti-cancer tumor suppressor.
Heart disease and cancer was much more rare (while infectious disease was more common) before industrial seed oil consumption was mainstream.
Of all things that are easily changed in our diets, the deletion of seed oils is the easies and brings the most benefit.
Thanks. I didn't mean to ask for such a comprehensive answer, but I do appreciate it. That's a lot to, ahem, digest. I cook with seed oils (and butter), but I'll be on the lookout for them on labels. Thanks again.
I have two questions. First, what's the A in PUFA? Second, do you have a resource you can recommend about rancidification of different oils? I've read anecdotally about peanut oil being almost as good and long-lasting (i.e., doesn't go rancid at room temperature) as olive, but I've never been able to find solid data. Appreciated if you have it, obv no worries if you don't.
The A in PUFA is just acid, as in polyunsaturated fatty acid.
Manufacturers add potent antioxidants(ie vitamin e) to fragile oils to extend their shelf life.
Fat fragility with cooking is one thing, but inside our bodies is more important. The strongest source of oxidants is within our mitochondria. No real way to avoid that so it's better to ensure that they (cardiolipin in particular) are built from more resilient fatty acids.
As for heart disease, atherosclerosis only happens with oxidized or glycated cholesterol. Of course the 'medical establishment' focuses on lowering cholesterol when people should instead build their cholesterol out of more robust fatty acids (Saturated or mono) instead of PUFA. Macrophages and resulting foam cells don't even react to native, non-oxidized or glycated cholesterol.
The statin drug industry has earned $1 trillion for them over the last several decades. Completely unnecessary, and harmful to normal hormone production which requires cholesterol.
Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids are beneficial. Even when the single double bond is broken it goes into two shorter chain saturated fats, not the poisonous junk that pufas degrade into. Many off-the-shelf olive or avocado oils are spiked with cheap soybean oil (high pufa) so I just use butter (or ghee), coconut oil and tallow.
Normal human consumption of polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) are around 1 to 2 percent. Most people in developed nations have stored fats in the 20 to 40 range for PUFA. When we make fat ourselves (due to excess calories) it is stored as saturated fat. Saturated fats are single carbon chains with no double bonds so they are extremely stable. Butter and tallow will not rancidify. They won't oxidize or glycate within the body either. We can also make mono-unsaturated fat from saturated fat within our bodies as needed (SCD1 enzyme). It is not as stable as saturated fat but still needed for membrane flexibility and other mechanisms. PUFA have multiple double bonds and are highly unstable, both outside our bodies and inside. Extremely prone to oxidation/glycation. We have no mechanism to create PUFA within our bodies. If it was needed that function would exist. All of our cells are made from the fatty acids that they have available. Membranes are made of fat (lipid bilayer) and even more important our mitochondrial membranes are made from these fats. When the vital structure in our mitochondria called cardiolipin are made exclusively from PUFA (all 4 fatty acids) they are extremely vulnerable. On a macro scale, people who limit PUFA consumption to an ancestral level (below 4%) are almost immune to sunburn and resilient to normal burns. Sunlight (UV primarily) easily breaks down our cell membranes if they are constructed of PUFA. The byproducts of this breakdown (4-HNE, MDA, 13-HOD and many others) are very poisonous. 4-HNE for example attacks our P53 anti-cancer tumor suppressor. Heart disease and cancer was much more rare (while infectious disease was more common) before industrial seed oil consumption was mainstream. Of all things that are easily changed in our diets, the deletion of seed oils is the easies and brings the most benefit.
Thanks. I didn't mean to ask for such a comprehensive answer, but I do appreciate it. That's a lot to, ahem, digest. I cook with seed oils (and butter), but I'll be on the lookout for them on labels. Thanks again.
I have two questions. First, what's the A in PUFA? Second, do you have a resource you can recommend about rancidification of different oils? I've read anecdotally about peanut oil being almost as good and long-lasting (i.e., doesn't go rancid at room temperature) as olive, but I've never been able to find solid data. Appreciated if you have it, obv no worries if you don't.
The A in PUFA is just acid, as in polyunsaturated fatty acid. Manufacturers add potent antioxidants(ie vitamin e) to fragile oils to extend their shelf life. Fat fragility with cooking is one thing, but inside our bodies is more important. The strongest source of oxidants is within our mitochondria. No real way to avoid that so it's better to ensure that they (cardiolipin in particular) are built from more resilient fatty acids.
As for heart disease, atherosclerosis only happens with oxidized or glycated cholesterol. Of course the 'medical establishment' focuses on lowering cholesterol when people should instead build their cholesterol out of more robust fatty acids (Saturated or mono) instead of PUFA. Macrophages and resulting foam cells don't even react to native, non-oxidized or glycated cholesterol. The statin drug industry has earned $1 trillion for them over the last several decades. Completely unnecessary, and harmful to normal hormone production which requires cholesterol.
Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids are beneficial. Even when the single double bond is broken it goes into two shorter chain saturated fats, not the poisonous junk that pufas degrade into. Many off-the-shelf olive or avocado oils are spiked with cheap soybean oil (high pufa) so I just use butter (or ghee), coconut oil and tallow.
I've also read about many counterfeit products, including olive oil and honey. Thanks again.