Total fat consumption

Nutrition Insight 5, Is Total Fat Consumption Really Decreasing USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, April 1998. 

Epidemiologic evidence Indicates a Westernized diet, typically high In total fat content. Is an Important etiologic factor In pancreatic tumorlgenesis. The positive correlation between total fat consumption In various countries and pancreatic tumor Incidence suggests that excessive fat Ingestion Is an Important disease fac-... 

The current North American intake of total dietary fat is about 38% of calories with approximately 13-15%, 5-7% and 16-18% of calories supplied by saturated, polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, respectively (Grundy, 1989). This provides for a current P/S ratio of about 0.45. There is ample evidence that these levels of total fat, and especially saturated fat, are too high and represent significant risk factors for coronary heart disease and possibly cancer at specific sites. Various agencies (American Heart Association, 1988 National Research Council, 1989 American Cancer Association and the US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Health and Human Services, 1990 Health and Welfare Canada, 1990) have recommended that the current total fat consumption be reduced to 30% of calories, with the contribution of saturated fat not to exceed 10% of calories. Furthermore, an increase in the P/S ratio from the present value of 0.45 to a value of 1.0 is also recommended. This provides for an intake of polyunsaturated fat at 10% of calories with the last 10% of fat calories supplied by mono-unsaturated fat. It is emphasized that these recommendations are for adults and children over 2 years of age. 

Reduce total fat consumption to 30% or less of total daily calorie intake. 

If the fat consumption and therefore the content of saturated fatty acids in the diet is low, the serum cholesterol can remain at a moderate level, as was observed in the peoples of the Near East e.g. the Yemenites, who consume almost exclusively saturated fats, but their total fat consumption is very low. This observation is not in disagreement with the concept which I mentioned before. 

A USDA report indicates that between 1967 and 1988, butter consumption remained stable at 2 kg per capita, margarine dropped from 5.1 to 4.7 kg, and measured total fat intake per day dropped from 84.6 to 73.3 g (14). This study also projects that the reduced consumption of tropical oils is only temporary and will return to former use levels, possibly even higher. One reason for this projected rise in tropical oil consumption is the knowledge of the beneficial effects of medium-chain length acids high in lauric oils. There is a keen interest in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as linoleic acid, contained in fish oils. 

Limit fat intake to less than 30% of total caloric consumption. 

An important point relevant to the above results is that the diet was identical for all groups within a given experiment except for protein source. This is necessary to distinguish specific nutrient effects but does not reflect actual food consumption since intake of animal protein is also associated with increased ingestion of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Therefore, it is only... 

Meat products provide approximately 36% of the energy and many of the required nutrients in the diet They also contribute more than 50% of the total fat, 75% of the saturated fatty acids and essentially all of the cholesterol. Consumers have been advised to reduce their dietary fat and cholesterol levels for health reasons, and the utilization of red meats has suffered greatly in the past few years. Consumption of red meat products world-wide has been reduced considerably compared to a high consiunption of 3.1 million tons per year in 1986-1988 (i). 

A case-control study in Canada indicated an elevated risk for those with an increased intake of calories, total fat, and saturated fat (20,21). This study estimated levels of fat consumption by combining information from diet histories with information on the fat content of foods A recent case-control study in Utah Mormons indicated a positive association between dietary fat and colon cancer (10). 

About 60 percent of the total fat consumed domestically is invisible, in meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, and prepared foods. The visible 40 percent is used primarily in the form of salad and in-home cooking oils, shortenings, and margarine. From 1965 to 1990, average domestic consumption of fat decreased from 50.7 to 32.5 kg per capita for men 19-50 years of age and 30.3 kg/yr to 23.4 kg/yr for... 

The compositional characteristics of almond oil show that it is rich in several health-promoting nutrients, many of which may be responsible for the observed benehcial effects of dietary almond consumption in cardiovascular diseases (11) and in weight management (12), however, few investigations have explored this topic. Hyson et al. (13) conducted a dietary intervention study to determine whether the consumption of whole almonds or almond oil for 6 weeks would result in similar or different effects on plasma lipids and ex vivo LDL oxidation. Both groups consumed diets with identical almond oil and total fat levels. This study showed that both whole almond and almond oil consumption caused similar reductions in plasma cholesterol and LDL (4% and 6%, respectively) as well as a 14%... 

Dietary fats have been classified as visible and invisible sources of fat. Visible fats are those that have been isolated from animal tissues, oilseeds, or vegetable sources and are used in such products as margarine, shortening, and salad oil. These fats and oils comprise about 43% of the total fat available for consumption in the U.S. diet. Invisible fats are those that are consumed as part of the animal tissues or the vegetables in the diet. These comprise the remaining 57% of the fat available for consumption in the U.S. diet (4). 

MUFA diets. Results from these two studies indicate that moderate changes in the consumption of MUFAs do not have any adverse or beneficial effects on several indices of immune response as long as the total fat content of the diets are comparable. The effects may differ significantly if MUFA is being replaced by n-3 PUFA, but those should be attributed to the changes in n-3 PUFA and not MUFA. 

What can we do to protect our health For many years, nutritionists have been telling us what appears to be the best solution reduce your total fat intake to 20% of your daily calories, and reduce your consumption of animal fats by substituting vegetable oils. Whenever possible, use vegetable oils that have not been hydrogenated. 

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