Lore of Nutrition: Challenging conventional dietary beliefs

by Tim Noakes

‘Ignorance’ is probably the best word to describe public opinion on dietary fat, Harcombe said. She gave the hearing a mini lecture on the composition of fats, explaining that there are three ‘real’ fats: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. All foods that contain fat – olives, avocados, meat, fish, eggs, dairy, etc. – contain all three types, no exceptions. Only dairy products have more saturated than unsaturated fat – ‘not that any real fat is better or worse than any other’, she said. Ironically, red meat has far less saturated fat than oily fish and even olive oil, yet the experts still tell people to avoid eating red meat. They also regularly give messages that seem to suggest that it’s possible to avoid saturated fat, for example, and increase consumption of polyunsaturated fat, Harcombe said. This is especially the case with recommendations to replace animal fats with vegetable oils or fats.