What is it?

Just like Saturated fat and Mono-Unsaturated fat, Poly-unsaturated fat is composed of Carbon and Hydrogen atoms bonded together. 

Poly-unsaturated fat however is the most unstable of the three types of fat due to the fact that it has two pairs of Hydrogen atoms missing. This is why Poly-Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature, and the missing hydrogens allow the carbon to join up with Oxygen, essentially causing oxidation. 

As such Poly-unsaturated fats could just as well be named, Poly-UNSTABLE fats. Just one of the reasons why they go rancid so easily, and are not found in great quantities in nature.

Common Myth

❌ Poly-Unsaturated fat is best for you as it helps lower cholesterol

Poly-unsaturated fats (like those that make up vegetable and seed oils) can lower cholesterol levels, although that assertion itself is weak. But most importantly, the claim that lowered cholesterol levels are beneficial for you has been disproved long ago – however this myth refuses to die.

Read – 🩸Should your Cholesterol actually be higher than it is NOT lower? 

Do we need it?

Some – but a little. You’ve probably heard of Omega 3’s and 6’s, right? Well, they themselves are poly-unsaturated fats. 

We do need them, but at such small quantities that we get enough of them from eating real, whole, (mainly animal) foods.

As soon as we use oils like canola, sunflower, peanut, soybean or grapeseed for cooking in, or as the major component of processed food like products, the balance of Omega 6’s to Omega 3’s that we consume gets messed up. The fix isn’t to consume more omega 3’s, but rather limit the sources of excess omega 6’s.

Some of the dangers of excess consumption of vegetable (seed) oils include – Cell Death, Liver Damage, Weight Gain and Obesity, Dementia and Alzheimers, not to mention all the other of chronic metabolic diseases seen today.

Try This:

There’s really only one way to avoid excess poly-unsaturated fat in your diet, and that is to cook your own food. By this point you’ve probably heard me say it countless times, but for those that are new around here, these are the simple ground rules that make healthy nutrition easy . . .

• If it comes in a packet, or is made in a factory, don’t eat it. And if it does come in a packet, it should be a one ingredient product that you can easily identify.

• Food should be cooked in fat. Oils are for engines. (This is easy to control at home, but beware when dining out, even if ordering something seemingly good for you).

• Prioritise protein, especially from animals. – Red meat, eggs, fish and dairy.

Avoid the confusion – Download The Health Fix’s Simple Guide to Clean Eating (FREE) to learn what to eat and most importantly what to avoid.