Hello lovelies!
So, two week we talked about butter and some of the key elements it has to offer your body to keep it nourished and happy! In case you missed it, you can read that post here. Today let’s look at what tries to get passed off as butter.
Most diets today consist of nearly 30% polyunsaturated fats. These fats include all the supposedly health “vegetable” oils such as canola, soy, corn and safflower oil. But they are from seeds, not vegetables and they have to go through a very involved process to make it into the bottle or other refined foods you find them in at your local grocer. And this process is not a natural process…. nor does it leave the oil in a healthy for you state.
For decades, our ancestors relied on saturated fats, like butter, lard, tallow and coconut oil, as their main source of dietary fat. They did not suffer from many of the modern ailments that plague us today. Prior to 1920 coronary heart disease was rare, but by the 1950’s it had become the leading cause of death in America. The reduction of animal fats in the diet began in 1910. By 1970 the intake had dropped to 62%, it was over 80% earlier in the century. The use of margarine, shorting and other refined oils increase, a lot!! It was a 400% increase!!
Now let’s think about this for a second…. Americans stopped eating saturated fats, hugely increased their intake of healthy polyunsaturated fats, and began to experience more and more heart disease and other issues. Sounds like there was a shift in the wrong direction!! Sounds like the information given was misleading. Sounds like our ancestors were doing it right with their high saturated fat diet. Sounds like we need to start eating real butter again!
Truth be told, these polyunsaturated fats consumed in excess contribute to cancer, damage to reproductive organs and lungs, heart disease, immune dysfunction, impaired growth, digestive issues and more!
What makes them so troublesome??
For starters, the commercial process for getting oil out of seeds (or vegetable if that’s what you want to call them), turns the oil rancid. Rancid oil is damaged oil full of free radicals that attack your cell membranes and red blood cells. Once these all-important parts of your body are damaged, they cannot protect themselves…they can’t protect you.
They are also perpetuating an imbalance in omega-3 fat to omega-6 fat. These processed oils contain more omega-6 then omega-3. Ideally, you want these to be present in a 1:1 ratio in your diet. When these fats are out of balance, you will experience more inflammation in your body. Inflammation plays a pivotal role in many of the modern disease listed above.
Let’s go back to the process of creating these seed oils and take a closer look at what is involved in removing the oil from its source.
Extraction is how many large factories remove oil from nuts and seeds. What make this so dangerous is the heat and solvents added during the process. Polyunsaturated fats are not very stable and should not be heated. But during extraction, the seeds are heated to 230° and crushed, creating more heat. Combined the heat with light and oxygen, and you have a damaged oil. In addition, there are solvents added to help the seed release even more oil. The solvents are toxic, and they attract any pesticides that are on the seeds. Both will remain the oil after processing.
These oils are them put into clear plastic bottles that can leach more toxins into the oil and placed under the bright light of your grocery store, providing more heat. Not a good combo!
And then there is hydrogenation. A nifty little science trick that turns the poly unsaturated fats from their natural liquid state to a solid state at room temperature, creating your non-butter spread and shorting. During this process, the already damaged oils are subject to more heat and more harmful substances. First the liquid oil is mixed with metal particles, then exposed to hydrogen gas in a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor. Next, soap-like emulsifiers and starches are added to improve the consistency. And then, to remove the unpleasant odor that is left….rancid oil has a very off putting smell, more heat is applied during the steam cleaning process. To remove the lovely grey color of this new formed material, bleach is added. And lastly, artificial colors and flavors are added. And just like that, you have a heart healthy spread that will save your arteries and make your kids geniuses!! That was sarcasm people, lots of sarcasm.
How can a food that is so manipulated but healthy for you? How can it prevent disease when it is full of chemical and the processes damages it? How can your cells build strong membranes when you are not providing it with the proper fat it uses?
The truth is, this food isn’t healthy for you and the damaged food you put into your body will create a damaged body. And your cell membranes consist of 50% saturated fat, not highly-refined polyunsaturated fat. How about this for a scary thought – these processed fats also contain trans fats. Trans fat so closely mimic healthy fats that the body thinks they are the fat needed to create cell membranes and will actually incorporate then into your cells. Creating a partially hydrogenate cell!! NO GOOD!! Once the trans fat is in the cell, it disrupts functions that the cell is designed to perform, initiating dysfunction throughout the entire body.
My advice, put down the tub of fake butter and grad a stick or eight of the real stuff!! Fried your eggs in butter, top your veggies with it…whatever you would do with margarine, you can do with butter!!
Removing the unhealthy fats from your diet will less your change of cancer, heart disease, immune issues, infertility, obesity, high cholesterol and more!! While the high-quality fats will give you a energy source that last for hours, help you to use proteins properly, create strong cells and adequate hormones, help you to adsorb certain vitamins, just to name a few things!
