You would think that this question would have been settled by now. But there’s not as much research as you might expect.
Reducing your saturated fat intake can help bring down high cholesterol. But are the saturated fats in coconut oil better for heart health? Also: Can diet help prevent eczema flare-ups?
Nutrition Diva is hosted by Monica Reinagel. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a nutrition question? Send an email to nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com or leave a voicemail at 443-961-6206.
Find Nutrition Diva on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to the newsletter for more diet and nutrition tips.
Nutrition Diva is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.
Links:
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/nutrition-diva-newsletter
https://www.facebook.com/QDTNutrition/
https://twitter.com/NutritionDiva
https://nutritionovereasy.com/
I’m Monica Reinagel and you’re listening to the Nutrition Diva podcast. Welcome!
I have two good listener questions for you this week.
Mar’s question is about the relationship between diet and eczema. And the email began with some very kind words about the podcast.
“I wanted to say how much I appreciate what you do. People who can wade into scientific studies and convey that information in an easy-to-understand way are rare.
Not only that, but you do it with empathy and self-awareness. It's easy to shake one's head at people who get obsessed with superfoods or fad diets, but you remind me to be compassionate and patient, and to listen and understand before launching into explanations.
So, thank you for your patience and your work in transforming misinformation and gut reactions into thoughtful conversations and learning experiences.”
This means the world to me–because it’s my goal in this podcast is to never shut someone down or make them feel stupid for something that they’ve asked or something they believe. My intention is to help us all move toward a greater understanding of the facts… and also of each other. I don’t always get it right but it’s especially meaningful to hear that some of that comes through. So: thank you, Mar!
But, Mar also had a question having to do with eczema and the role diet plays.
“Do you have any tips on what to eat to help control eczema? I've heard that dairy can cause flare-ups, but also that fermented dairy can help.”
Some people do find that diet can be a trigger for flare-ups. But as with other conditions that have dietary triggers (such as migraines or acne), which foods trigger reactions varies from person to person. So, while there are certain foods that seem to be more common triggers, it still requires some trial and error to figure out which, if any, are triggers for you.
People who suffer from eczema are more likely to also have food allergies and obviously, you’d want to avoid any foods that you are allergic to. But even if they don’t cause full-blown allergic reactions, some people with eczema find that common food allergens like peanuts, cow’s milk, eggs, and wheat provoke an inflammatory response that kicks up their eczema. Tomatoes and citrus fruit are other common triggers.
Many of the dietary recommendations for reducing flare-ups just suggest avoiding all of the most common triggers. But this can be unnecessarily restrictive—because it may only be one or two that are actually causing problems for you.
You might've seen ads for blood tests that claim to identify food intolerances, but these are really not reliable. Unfortunately, the only reliable way to identify your food triggers is to do an elimination diet. I say “unfortunately” only because it’s kind of a pain.
You begin by eliminating all of the most likely culprits for a few weeks. Often this leads to a significant reduction in symptoms. But that’s just step one. Step two is to start reintroducing them one at a time to see if you can tolerate them. Leave a few days between introducing new foods, because the reactions can be somewhat delayed. (If you do have a reaction, you want to have a clear sense of which food most likely caused it.)
There may be some foods that you don’t tolerate in any amount. But there are likely many others that you can tolerate, as long as you don’t have too much or too many of them at once. Keep in mind that stress or illness—both of which can ramp up background inflammation levels—may lower your tolerance to foods that you normally do OK with.
You need to experiment to find which foods in which amounts and which combinations you can get away with. If your food sensitivities are numerous or your symptoms are severe, it can be helpful to work with a nutrition professional who specializes in this type of detective work.
I know that sounds tedious, but it’s worth it. Eventually, you will be able to enjoy a wider range of foods, with fewer flare-ups.
Catherine writes:
“I've lowered my saturated fat intake in an effort to reduce my cholesterol. Over the past several months, I've managed to bring it down about 40 points by reducing my red meat consumption.
I've also started to look for substitutes for full-fat dairy products like ice cream. Some of these, such as coconut milk based frozen desserts, have quite a bit of saturated fat. Is there a difference in the saturated fat of these two products in terms of how they affect my health?”
As Catherine has discovered, reducing your saturated fat intake from food can be an effective way to reduce your blood cholesterol levels. Far more effective, in fact, than reducing your intake of dietary cholesterol. But saturated fats are a whole family of different fatty acids.
Here’s a quick review for those of you who might need a refresher on your fatty acid chemistry:
All fatty acids are “hydrocarbons,” meaning that they are built from carbon and hydrogen atoms. The carbon atoms form a sort of backbone, to which hydrogen atoms attach in various configurations.
When each of the carbons in the chain is linked to two hydrogen atoms, we say that it is fully hydrogenated, or saturated. (If some of the carbons have only one hydrogen partner, it’s an unsaturated fatty acid.)
Saturated fats come in a variety of lengths, though. Butyric acid is a stumpy little thing, only 4 carbons long. Butyric acid is found in butter. (Butyric/butter sound similar, which makes that easy to remember.) Stearic acid, on the other hand, is a rangy 18 carbons long. Meat is relatively rich in stearic acid. (You can remember this because stearic sounds like “steer.”) Lauric acid, found in coconut oil, is in the middle, with 12 carbons. (I’m afraid I don’t have a handy mnemonic device for that one.)
So the question is whether all saturated fats tend to increase blood cholesterol or only some of them. And, by extension, is butter better or worse for your cholesterol than beef or coconut oil? Or, as Catherine is wondering, would a frozen dessert high in coconut oil be better or worse than full-fat ice cream?
You would think that this question would have been settled by now. But there’s not as much research as you might expect—and the results are a bit mixed. The effects of different fatty acids on cholesterol levels vary, depending on the total amount of fat and saturated fat in your diet, as well as whether or not you have other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
All the different types of saturated fats (including those in coconut oil) tend to increase total cholesterol levels, but there are some significant differences in their effects on HDL (the “good” cholesterol) and LDL (the “bad” kind).
So, here’s my best advice, based on the research I reviewed. If cholesterol is a concern, you are probably wise to limit your saturated fat intake (from all sources) to no more than 10% of calories. (For the typical adult, that’s about 20 to 25 grams per day.) Monounsaturated fats, such as those in olive oil and avocado, are really your best bet. (And here’s a fun fact: Most cuts of beef contain roughly equal amounts of monounsaturated and saturated fat.)
That’s not true of butter, which is mostly saturated. I really like the taste of butter, so I blend up a stick of butter with an equal amount of olive oil to make a “better butter” that is about half and half monounsaturated and saturated fat. As another plus, it’s spreadable straight out of the fridge, so it won’t tear up your toast.
But, back to Catherine’s original question: in terms of the effects on cardiovascular risk, a coconut-based frozen dessert would appear to be a better choice than full-fat ice cream. Both might have comparable amounts of saturated fat, but the saturated fatty acids in coconut oil are less likely to drive up LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
However, if you’re trying to reduce your total cholesterol levels, you’d probably want to save the full-fat frozen desserts for special occasions—and in that case, I think you can afford to have whichever one tastes better to you.
If you have a question you'd like me to answer, you can email me at nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com You can also leave me a message at 443-961-6206
If you’re looking for more support for healthy weight management, please check out the tools and resources at weighless.life, where our goal is to help people create the habits, mindset, and lifestyle that help them weigh less without dieting. That’s at weighless.life.
Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. It's audio-engineered by Nathan Semmes with script editing by Adam Cecil. Thanks also to Morgan Christianson, Holly Hutchings, Davina Tomlin, and Kamryn Lacy.