Good Oils and Fatty Substances

Oils: Suggestions   Diseases   Food Data     Lecithin&Choline


Suggestions on oils and fats

  • Both high and low fat diets can be bad (SN 3/20/99 p.181).  The key is to avoid bad oils and eat good ones.  The tables below give some information about common vegetable sources.
  • Unextracted oils are better than extracted ones, probably due in part to longer digestion times to get them out of food (SN 11/21/98 p.329).  Unrefined are better than refined because minimally processed oils tend to be high in antioxidants.  A lot of flavor is a good sign.  By far the best  seed oils are olive and flaxseed.
  • Medium-chain saturated fats, such as coconut oil, are also good.
  • Monounsaturated oils are good because they lower only LDL; however, the mono/saturated fat ratio appears more important than total fat (SN 11/21/98 p.328).
  • Polyunsaturated oils are mixed: Click for bad effects.  Certain polyunsaturates are important: the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6.
    • Omega-6 (linoleic) fatty acids:  High levels of omega-6 can block omega-3 usage.  The charts below have some information on relative amounts in various foods.
    • Omega-3 occurs in three forms ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), DFA and EFA.  Animals convert ALA to DFA and EFA, but our conversion rate may be inadequate.  Thus, it is important to obtain all three.  Plants contain ALA.  In addition to the food in the charts below, seaweed is another good source of ALA (BN 7/00 p.43).  Cold-water fish (chart) are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, but are low ALA.  Fish oil can increase LDL levels, so one might combine it with garlic oil (SN 2/15/97 p.161).  The Canadian FDA recommends about 1.5 grams/day of omega-3.

Confused by all this?  Summarizing good and bad oil recommendations:  Get most of your oil from food, not from oil in a bottle.  When you do use oil in a bottle, go for the unrefined.  Severely limit trans-fats and long chain saturated fats.  Limit polyunsaturated fats except for sources high in omega-3.  Unfortunately most salad dressings are high in polyunsaturates but not omega-3, unless they are based on olive oil.  You can also make a flaxseed shake.  Studies indicate that a moderate amount of coconut oil, a natural saturated fat, is beneficial.


Disease information:

  • CARDIOVASCULAR disease risk lower with high-mono diets (SN 11/21/98 p.328) and also with high omega-3 diets. Walnuts (5 oz./week) reduced risk significantly in a small test and affect fat metabolism differently than fish and soybean sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (Alt. 1/02 p.55).
  • MANIC DEPRESSION may be helped by high doses of omega-3 (SN 6/5/99, WBJ 5/00 p.30).
  • STROKE risk drops about 5% for every 1% increase in total calories from monounsaturates (SN 2/28/98 p.142).

PRESSED OILS          NUT OILS          FISH OILS

Pressed oils.  Absolute meaning of numbers not clear.
The best oils in this table are flaxseed and olive.  Canola is okay.  Keep consumption of others low.

 OIL

 TOTAL

 SAT

 POLY

 MONO

 COMMENTS

 canola

     14

    1

     4

     8

 1 omega-3; 3 omega-6

 corn

     14

    2

     8

     4

 0 omega-3; 8 omega-6

 flaxseed

     14

    1

   10

     3

 7 omega-3; 2 omega-6; 2 omega-9 (mono)

 olive

     14

    2

     1

   10

 0 omega-3; 1 omega-6; high in mono;
 high in antioxidants if unprocessed

 peanut

     14

    3

     5

     6

 0 omega-3; 4 omega-6

 safflower

     14

    2

   10

     2

 0 omega-3; 8 omega-6

 sesame

     14

    2

     6

     5

 0 omega-3; 6 omega-6

 soy

     

    

     

     

 1 omega-3; 7 omega-6

 sunflower seed

     14

    2

     9

     3

 0 omega-3; 8 omega-6

 wheat germ

     14

    1

     9

     3

 1 omega-3; 7 omega-6

 Nut oil amounts are in grams per ounce (28 grams) of nuts.

 FOOD

 TOTAL

 SAT

 POLY

 MONO

 COMMENTS

 almond

    14

    1

     3

    10

 good mono/total ratio

 avocado

    30

    ?

     ?

     ?

 (amount in average fruit) high in mono

 brazil

    19

    5

     7

      7

 relatively high saturated;  high in selenium

 cashew

    13

    2

     8

      3

 poor mono/total ratio

 hazelnut

    18

    1

     2

    15

 very good mono/total ratio

 macademia

    20

    2

     3

    15

 very good mono/total ratio

 pecan

    19

    2

     5

    12

 good mono/total ratio

 pistachio

    14

    2 

     4

      8

 

 pumpkin

    

     

     

      

 high omega-3

 soybean

    

     

     

      

 some omega-3

 walnut

    15

    2

   11

      2

 some omega-3; poor mono/total ratio

Fish oils are in percent by weight of fish meat,
which is equivalent to grams per 3.5 oz. serving.
Amounts can vary widely depending on time of year and fish diet, so other
sources may give figures that differ by nearly 50%.
Levels in farm-raised fish have been both higher and lower.  (See below.)
Reason why total omega-3 and ALA both given.

 FISH

 omega-6

 omega-3

 ALA

 Cod

 1.2

 3.*

 0.8

 Flounder

 0.01

 0.2

 0.01

 Halibut (Pacific)

 0.02

 0.3

 0.01

 Herring (Atlantic)

 0.3

 1.0

 0.11

 Herring (Pacific)

 0.1

 1.4

 0.03

 Mackerel

 1.0

 1.8

 0.10

 Rockfish

 0.04

 0.8

 0.02

 Salmon (farmed Atlantic)**

 0.1

 1.9

 0.05

 Salmon (chinook)

 0.1

 1.8

 0.11

 Salmon (coho)

 0.1

 1.8

 0.04

 Salmon (sockeye)

 1.4

 3.3

 0.3

 Sardines

 ?

 1.4

 ?

 Sole (lemon)

 0.7

 0.2

 ?

 Trout (lake -- pink meat)

 ?

 2.0

 ?

 Trout (rainbow)

 ?

 0.5

 ?

 Tuna (canned albabcore) ***

 0.05

 1.5

 0.04

 Tuna (canned bluefin) ***

 0.03

 1.0

 0.02

*Another source lists this as less than 0.3

**Farm raised fish are fed some combination of vegetable and fish oils.  A study (Norwegian, 2004) found that omega-3 was very low in salmon on pure vegetable oil.   On the other hand, dioxins & PCBs tend to concentrate in oil, so feeding fish oil to fish can raise levels significantly above those in wild populations.  Lowest are wild Alaskan and British Columbia salmon.  Among  those,  from lower to higher: chum, pink, coho, sockeye and chinook.  For more information see Science 2004, 303 (1/9/04) pp.154-155, 228.

*** One source gives much lower values when tuna is packed in water.

 

Other fish information I've read:

  • Yellowfin tuna is often sold in restuarants and is NOT  high in omega-3 (no figure given).
  • Bluefish is high in omega-3 in omega-3 (no figure given).
  • Anchovies have about 0.4g of omega-3 per 5 fillets.
  • Sardines have about 0.4g of omega-3 per 2 fish --- but a variety of fish are called sardines so this may be unreliable.

Choline and Lecithin

  • CHOLINE  Facilitates cholesterol transport and elimination of homocysteine, which raises heart disease risk at high concentrations.  Shortage can cause liver damage.  Indications are that it fosters brain development from the last half of pregnancy through toddlerhood.  Supplements for adults may improve memory. (SN 11/3/01 p.282).
    SOURCES Synthesized in the liver, but may be inadequate.  Available as a supplement in lecithin.
    High sources: 5g/kg in (beef) liver; 2-3g/kg in eggs, soybeans, lentils, peanuts; 1g/kg in beef.
    The Institute of Medicine recommends 0.5g/day to prevent liver damage.  Optimum health may require more.
  • LECITHIN  is a widespread fatty substance containing choline, fatty acids and other substances.