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(HEALTH MONITOR) SENIOR SAVVY

Dietary Fat: Finding

A Healthy Balance

Fat is a nutrient that is both much feared and much loved. It is a source of

pleasure, guilt and confusion for many people.

While eating some fat is necessary and health promoting, eating too much fat

is detrimental. When over-consumed, fat may contribute to some major health

risks: heart disease, cancer, excess body fat, high blood pressure and adult

onset diabetes.

The scientific consensus on the health risks of eating too much fat is so

strong that all of the lists of national nutritional recommendations suggest

we "limit consumption of fatty foods, particularly those of animal origin and

choose modest amounts of appropriate vegetable oils."

Fats or lipids are loosely defined as substances that are not soluble in

water. Food fat comes in three basic forms -- triglycerides, phospholipids and

sterols -- and each type of fat has specific roles in the body.

When people talk about fat they are usually referring to the triglycerides,

which make up about 95 percent of the fat in food and are the compact storage

form of energy in the body. The phospholipids, because of their unique

structure, have key roles in cell membranes, and the sterols, such as

cholesterol, are important building blocks of some hormones.

A number of factors affect the appropriate fat intake of an individual. For

most healthy adults, an optimal fat intake is somewhere between 10 and 30

percent of calories consumed. People living with heart disease, those trying

to lose body fat and some athletes should be near the 10 to 15 percent end of

this range.

Others, such as those who are having trouble keeping weight on, have low

cholesterol levels, or who choose mostly monounsaturated fats such as olive

and canola oil in their foods preparation, can safely choose a diet closer to

the 25 to 30 percent end of this range. This translates to a suggested range

for daily fat intake of 22 to 66 grams for someone who needs to eat about

2,000 calories to stay in balance and 34 to 100 grams a day for a person who

needs 3,000 calories.

To put these numbers in perspective, here is a short list of foods and their

respective fat contents: a double cheeseburger, 50 grams; one chicken wing, 10

grams; a tablespoon of butter, 14 grams; 3 ounces of baked salmon, 9 grams; a

1 ounce slice of cheese, 9 grams; and 1 cup of 2 percent milk, 5 grams.

All of these foods have greater than 30 percent of calories from fat. Some of

them, such as a serving of chicken wings, would exceed nearly anyone's daily

fat budget in a single sitting. This is why foods such as these should be

enjoyed in moderation and only occasionally.

In the plant kingdom, high-fat foods are the exception rather than the rule,

while in the animal kingdom the opposite is true. In fact, most animal foods

have to be processed (sometimes elaborately) to make them lower in fat.

Looking at whole plant foods, the only common foods that have greater than 30

percent of calories from fat are nuts, soybeans, avocados and olives.

Otherwise, most whole plant foods have zero to three grams of fat per serving.

Be aware, though, that processed plant foods such as potato chips and foods

cooked in oil or coated with high-fat dressings, as some salads are, may have

as much or more fat than animal foods.

Take note that all common food sources of cooking fat -- butter, regular

margarine, corn oil and olive oil -- contain 100 percent of calories from fat,

and all have about 14 grams of fat and about 120 calories per tablespoon. Also

be aware that so-called "light" olive oil is simply lighter in color or flavor

than its regular counterpart.

Light margarines, however, do have fewer calories and grams of fat per serving

than regular margarines, because they are fluffed with water. Your best bet

with these substances is to limit your use of all of them.

The basic low fat message is clear. Healthy eating involves limiting fat

intake, especially saturated fat intake, by choosing a diet rich in plant

foods and limited in foods that come from animal origins.

Take A Culinary Visit

To The Mediterranean

Consider taking a culinary visit to the Mediterranean by trying polenta topped

with roasted vegetables and fresh herbs, tabouli (a cracked wheat salad

flavored with tomatoes and parsley and lemon), baba ganoush (a spread of

pureed eggplant and garlic) or a hearty stew of zucchini, chickpeas and

tomatoes.

The cuisine of Southern Italy and Greece, especially as it was in the 1960s,

has been well-studied and is considered one of the most health promoting

cuisines in the world. Adult life expectancy for populations in these areas

was among the highest in the world with rates of coronary heart disease,

certain cancers and other diet-related chronic diseases among the lowest, even

with limitations of existing medical services at that time.

Much attention has been focused on trying to figure out what, in addition to

great taste, makes Mediterranean cuisine so special. It has several distinct

characteristics. At the center of every meal is an abundance of plant foods,

with foods of animal origin much more peripheral.

Traditional Mediterranean meals feature foods such as couscous, vegetables and

beans in Northern Africa, pasta, polenta and potatoes along with vegetables

and legumes in southern Europe, and bulgur and rice with vegetables and

chickpeas in the eastern Mediterranean areas.

In all these cuisines, olive oil is the principle source of fat. It is

preferable to animal fat, because it is mostly monounsaturated, low in

saturated fat and rich in vitamin E. These characteristics, as well as others,

make olive oil less likely to promote heart disease.

Dairy products, principally yogurt and cheese, are used in low to moderate

amounts. For example, small amounts of flavorful cheese are grated over pasta

as a way to incorporate these foods in a healthful manner. In Turkey, cool

dishes with cucumber or eggplant and yogurt are paired next to spicy

tomato-based main dishes.

In traditional Mediterranean cooking, red meat, poultry, fish and eggs are

used in small-to-moderate amounts, often only eaten a few times a week.

Because evidence increasingly supports the association of chronic diseases

like heart disease and cancer with Western diets rich in animal product,

limiting the intake of these foods, as is done in the Mediterranean, seems to

be a wise choice to most researchers.

People living in the Mediterranean region frequently drink wine with their

meals. Typical moderate wine consumption there is one to two glasses of wine

per day for men and one glass of wine per day for women. This level of wine

consumption appears to lower heart disease risk as well as overall mortality.

High rates of physical activity and some other lifestyle factors are also

likely contributors to the healthiness of people who live in the

Mediterranean. In Greece and Italy in the 1960s, social support and a sense of

community accompanied sharing food with friends and family; lengthy meals

provided relaxation and relief from the stress of the day; carefully prepared

delicious meals stimulated enjoyment of healthful foods; and afternoon naps

provided an opportunity for rest and relaxation.

The characteristics of the Mediterranean diet are consistent with guidelines

published the American Institute for Cancer Research for preventing cancer.

The cuisines from this part of the world make the transition to a healthy diet

delicious and interesting.

Try recipes from Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria and Tunisia

as well as Italy and Greece to fully enjoy the broad range of Mediterranean

flavors and health giving meals that are found in this area of the world.

"Senior Savvy" is provided as a public service by the American Institute for

Cancer Research, 1759 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009.