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A dietician sent me an email questioning the wisdom of consuming full-fat foods due to the potential for stored toxins in the fat.
This is apparently the recommendation of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which urges members to use low-fat or skim dairy products to reduce exposure to toxins that may be contained in the whole fat portion of those same products.
Those of you who read this blog know that I myself eat plenty of healthy fats and have for many years. During the winter months, my fat consumption approaches 60% of my caloric intake. In the summer, it is closer to 50%.
The fat I consume is primarily saturated fat in the form of whole milk, cheese, eggs, kefir, cream, butter, and the fat in the meat of grass-fed animals. This mimics the seasonal fat intake and diet of traditional Northern European cultures, from which I obtain my genetic heritage.
If you wish to determine the appropriate fat intake for your personal cultural heritage, I suggest you read the epic and groundbreaking work of Dr. Weston A. Price, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
On a side note, don’t believe the doctor-speak baloney that saturated fat will clog up your arteries and give you a heart attack.
It’s the factory fats (margarine and spreads, vegetable oils, trans fats) and sugar-laden processed foods that will cause problems, NOT whole, natural fats from grass-fed animals such as our chronic disease-free ancestors ate for thousands of years.
Remember, the saturated fat-laden egg has been exonerated for over a decade as a cause of heart attack or stroke after decades of demonization (source: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, July/Aug 2009).
Animal Fats Contain Nutrition Not Found in Plants
Are you still eating egg white omelets? You are waayyyyy behind the times, my friend!
Saturated fat does not cause a heart attack or stroke! When will our “behind the 8 ball” medical system wake up to the facts and stop recommending the devastating, diabetes and chronic disease-promoting low-fat diet to the American public?
Ok, sorry about that digression.
Am I concerned about the EWG warnings about toxins stored in the fat of animals?
The short answer is, no, I am most certainly not. Here’s why:
- You cannot hope to be healthy for the long term without consuming plenty of whole, saturated fats. Animal fats are where all the vitamin A/D/K is located and if you avoid it, you are going to have some serious nutritional deficiencies to deal with. Supplements can never take the place of food, so opting for the supplement rather than food route doesn’t work nearly as effectively unless they are whole food-based such as cod liver oil or butter oil.
- A well-nourished body can handle the toxins that come its way, but a poorly nourished body that exists in a toxin-free bubble will fall apart anyway. In other words, you have to eat the fat whether or not it is loaded with toxins or you will become nutritionally deficient. If you get what you need nutritionally, your body will be strong and able to eliminate the toxins that come along with little problem. Trying to avoid toxins by eating low-fat is foolish, though, as you will become nutritionally deficient this way and your health will deteriorate even if every mouthful of food you ever eat is 100% organic and toxin-free! In short, always choose nutrition first. With nutrition, you have a good chance at health; without it, you have no chance even if the food choices are toxin-free.
Animal Fats can be Toxin-Free Too!
The points above about eating fat regardless of whether or not it has toxins does not mean that you should not actively seek out clean sources of fat!
I was simply outlining the worst-case scenario – if I could only get animal fat by eating SPAM, then I would eat SPAM rather than not get any animal fat at all. The good news is that you can find sources of clean, whole saturated fats from grass-fed farmers in your local area!
So, seek out clean, grass-fed sources of whole fats from farmers in your local area and get the best of both worlds: healthy, toxin-free fats! Put aside the short-sighted and misinformed warnings about the toxins in animal fats from vegetarian/vegan groups or organizations like EWG. You must consume animal fats to be healthy (and to reproduce successfully and have healthy offspring, incidentally).
Fat avoidance, particularly of animal fats, is not an option for those who seek vibrant, chronic disease-free health.
All of the healthy peoples studied by Doctor Weston A Price ate large amounts of animal fat, and they were free of cavities and chronic disease.
I agree with Kate and Sarah, any toxins in the animal fats come from factory animals fed and treated unnaturally, not from pastured animals. Interesting how EWG does not distinguish between real fat and the factory version.
It is obvious that they have a vegetarian bias. We are omnivores, not rabbits, and we are meant to eat meat and fat.
Pure Mothers, I wrote a post awhile back about EWG and whether or not they have gone to the dark side. While they are doing good stuff, I'm not sure anymore whether or not they have succumbed to a more politically correct agenda:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/has-environmental-working-group-gone-to
Excellent, Sarah! That is exactly the way to do it! Switch over to Real Food that has those nutritious, insulin steadying, vitamin A/D/K packed animal fats like whole milk, yogurt, butter, and meat/fish/seafood (not meat substitutes or protein powders) and then buy the best quality that fits into your family's budget.
This is a great post! I love it! I really appreciate the idea that the fat is essential and that avoiding toxins is the next step! As my family has navigated our transition, switching to safe, local, pastured-only meats was part of a step by step process (as we learned to fit it into our budget), but we quit soy meat fillers and fat free junk foods cold turkey.
I think the major point is, grassfed animals that have been treated well won't have toxins in the fat. Not anywhere close to conventional animals! People who say "eating animal fat is bad for you" are ALWAYS referring to conventionally farmed animals. They don't differentiate between the two in any study. It's why I ignore them outright!
We eat tons and tons of animal fats, almost entirely saturated, over here (along with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and minimal grains). My husband is 6'2" and 180 lbs. with very low cholesterol. I am 5'3" and about 127 lbs. At my husband's recent physical, the doctor simply said "Keep doing what you're doing!" although they had no idea what that is. A high fat diet from excellent sources is VERY good for you.
Also, mark my words — they're talking vit D deficiency now, they're starting to mention vit K. In a year or so, it'll be the B vitamins. And in 4 – 5 years, it'll be vit A. I'm serious, just watch it happen.
@3Lilacs
Yeah, I'm arrogant. Once I discovered that our ancestral foods are actually highly nutritious and satisfying, I came to the realization that this stuff is the best food on earth. I am very grateful for that blessing. So, yeah, I am arrogant – I just can't help myself.
However, 3Lilacs, if you want to indulge yourself with the swill of junk science, you just knock yourself out.
Anon – I agree with Sarah; eat animal fats and cut out most if not all grains and sugar. I am 41, 5'5" tall and weigh 110 lbs. We don't eat any grains and eliminate all sugar except local, raw honey. I don't believe grains are healthy at all even the properly prepared grains (not for us anyway.)
Tina
I am down a hundred pounds since the the beginning of this past Lent. As anyone with weight issues knows, losing the blubber is only part of the battle. The other challenge is maintaining the weight loss. If that challenge is not sufficiently answered, the lost weight will come back with a vengeance.
Although I used HCG for the bulk of the weight loss, I have been doing high ratios of virgin coconut oil and animal fats (from pastured livestock) for the past several months now. The ratio for starch consumption is down to noise level.
This regimen of Real Food that we eat has allowed my family to maintain our weight loss with zero struggle. And the meals have been delightfully satisfying. We have never been happier and we ain't goin' back 🙂
Hi Pure Mothers, I agree that the less toxins the better, but recommending that folks avoid animal fats is not the correct approach to this worrisome problem. Regarding vegetarians, they say that the fat from animal meat is full of toxins – remember Dr. Price's travels – he did not find a single vegetarian population whose health came close to those which consumed animal foods/animal fats. And, a historical vegan culture does not exist (probably because any culture foolish enough to follow this paradigm would have died off quickly due to inability to reproduce successfully as well as low immunity over the long haul)
3Lilacs, arrogance? The wisdom of eating animal fats is historical and in keeping with what wise cultures have done for thousands of year. True arrogance is defying the laws of nature and ignoring the lessons of history and expecting to be healthy.