The Drawbacks and Dangers of Synthetic Fats and Fat-blockers

What are the drawbacks or dangers of synthetic fats and fat blockers? Answering this question isn't as simple as saying, "if you take this product it will cause this symptom." Whatever the answer, there will be arguments of the pros and cons. Let's face the facts, Americans love fat. We like to heap butter or margarine on our popcorn, bread and on our vegetables. We devour high fat hamburgers, french fries and milk shakes as a regular part of our diet.

Almost forty percent of the average American's caloric intake consists of fat. Our daily fat intake is the equivalent to eating a quarter pound of butter every day of the year. This is nearly double the recommended allowance for health, and the amount of fat in our diets is rising each year as we consume more and more fatty foods.

When our consumption of fatty foods was linked to heart disease and certain cancers, fat became the nutritional villain of the 70's and 80's. Health professionals and nutritionists started a witch-hunt with fat and began to suggest an extremely low fat diet, telling us to give up our favorite foods and eat "cardboard-like" substances for breakfast. These diets starved us, made us grouchy and when no one was looking, we binged.

Here is the good news. You get to eat fat. Nobel Prize winning nutritional research shows that fat is an essential nutrient in your diet. The fact that was missed in all the damaging reports about fat is that not all fats are the same. The secret is to limit your fat intake to the good fats, and include good fats as about 20% of your meal's calories.

The bad news is that most people still view fat as bad and many companies are taking advantage of this by creating fat blockers and synthetic fats, such as olestra. So, just how do fat blockers and olestra work in the body? Depending on the product used, a fat blocker is typically designed to either prevent the absorption of fat into the blood stream or to prevent the absorption at the cellular level once fat is absorbed into the blood stream.

Olestra (also known by the brand name Olean) is a synthetic molecule created by adding fatty acids to a type of alcohol and a sugar, sucrose. The sucrose binds the fat so tightly that human enzymes cannot break down the big molecule. For proponents of these products, this doesn't sound all that bad. In fact, Procter & Gamble spent over $200 million in hopes that olestra would finally pay off. The annual market alone on all the intended products, including potato chips and snack foods, that would contain olestra could be worth $1 billion within 10 years.

The problem is that these fat blockers or fat substitutes prevent the body from absorbing the fat we eat. And this is precisely the problem. We need fat! The good fats are called essential fats or fatty acids (EFAs). These good fats cannot be made by your body and must be included in your diet. Essential fatty acids, like protein and carbohydrates, are absolutely essential nutrients. Without them, you might experience many of the following symptoms of EFA deficiency: brittle nails or hair, bleeding gums, poor circulation (cold hands and feet), dry skin, oily or dry hair, excessive hair loss, candidiasis, excessive thirst and lowered resistance to infections and disease.

Another problem is that fat substitutes and fat blockers prevent the absorption of essential fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins dissolve in fat and enter the bloodstream by "hitching a ride" on the fat molecules that are naturally present in food. These vitamins latch on to olestra just as easily, and when that happens they sail through the digestive system without being utilized by the body. Carotenoids, usually found in carrots, cantaloupe and such leafy, dark-green vegetables as spinach, may help keep the immune system healthy and prevent prostate cancer, lung cancer, heart disease and macular degeneration. Just like vitamins A, D, E and K, some carotenoids are fat soluble, which means that fat blockers and fat substitutes can "vacuum" them out of food along with the fats.

The main reason Essential Fatty Acids are so essential to your health is that they stimulate the formation of hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are vital in regulating all eight major body systems: the central nervous system, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, digestive, reproductive, respiratory, immune and endocrine systems. Prostaglandins are also essential in controlling allergic reactions, tumor growth, inflammation and blood clotting.

Blocking fat or eating products with fat substitutes is not the answer for a sound, nutritional approach to a healthy lifestyle. Eating the right kinds of healthy fats and in the right proportion to the caloric intake is the answer. Avoid fad products and stick to the basics. Follow the principle of eating food as close to nature as possible, use supplementation to put back into the food what is taken out through processing and include exercise as part of your healthy lifestyle.

For more information on essential fatty acids, exercise and choosing nutrient-dense foods and healthy recipes, refer to the Infinity2's Complete Physique™ book.

Click here to learn more about The Enzyme Diet™ and the latest clinical study results for The Enzyme Diet™.