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Fear Fats? Time to Dump Those Old Phobias

By Allison St. Claire
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What does appear to do all the artery clogging are grains and sugars – i.e. CARBS. And for all of us who thought eating low-fat foods would keep the weight off, are finally getting it that since we started eating that way, obesity has soared.

Remember when foods used to taste a whole lot better? And had terrific “mouth feel?” And kept hunger at bay for hours after you ate?

Remember the truly good fats we cooked with and ate before lopsided farm subsidies and mass marketing convinced us (alas, successfully) that we should no longer slather our bread with butter, or fry potatoes in lard or duck fat, or make chopped liver in plenty of chicken fat? When even McDonald’s fried its incredible french fries in beef tallow? And we happily downed full-fat milk and ice cream?

And before we accepted the ultimate oxymoron – low-fat or even no-fat cream!

Fortunately, enough independent (read: non-marketing) studies have finally reached a critical mass and the “fat makes you fat” and the always misguided “fat clogs your arteries, raises cholesterol, and causes heart disease” myths are being debunked and discarded. (Best resources: Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It, and Mary Enig, Eat Fat, Lose Fat.) Both are based on sound science and thorough research.

Hooray, we can finally get rid of that “artery-clogging” description that seemed to automatically attach itself to “fats.”

What does appear to do all the artery clogging are grains and sugars – i.e. CARBS. And for all of us who thought eating low-fat foods would keep the weight off, are finally getting it that since we started eating that way, obesity has soared.

The biggest problem is that whenever food processors eliminated fats they loaded on the carbs to take their place.

I had a really hard time accepting an unnatural food product called low-fat or no-fat half and half when I first saw it. It's basically skim milk with corn syrup solids, artificial color, sugar, carrageenan (a seaweed based emulsifier and thickener), and “natural” (read: chemically formulated) and artificial flavors added to simulate the missing cream.

According to fat secret.com: Nutritional information for standard half milk-half cream shows 13 % carbs, low-fat has 19% carbs, and fat-free “half and half substitute” has a whopping 61%! Case closed.

Instead, let’s open up the good stuff – and yes very healthy (follow the science to learn why we absolutely need fats): olive, coconut, palm and avocado oil. Butter, whole-fat milk, kefir and yogurt. Poultry (chicken, duck, goose), animal fats (definitely grass-fed or organic if at all possible – beef and pork, even lamb or bison).

 


Recipes:

A Riff on Julia Child’s Potatoes au Gratin

Almost Everyone’s Grandmother’s Chopped Liver

 

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Allison St. Claire loves to dream about, study, grow, play with, prepare and ultimately enjoy eating great food.

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