“We went through the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s with a big push on low-fat diets and it’s been shown and proven now that it didn’t work; the experiment failed,” Neville told FoodNavigator-USA.
Studies have shown that obesity rates climbed and heart conditions deteriorated during this period due to the higher intake of ‘low-fat’ processed foods and a corresponding higher carbohydrate intake.
Conclusions from a 2009 study published in Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, found that low-fat diets did not make it easier for individuals to lose weight compared to following a moderate or high-fat diet.
“While it’s not quite proven yet that a predominantly fat-based diet is the answer, there’s certainly a lot of evidence to prove that a diet with healthy fats in it contributes to better health,” Neville added.
“The lifestyle of including fat in your diet is here to stay. It’s a matter of combining the fats and oils of various different sources.”
Moderation to be prevailing nutrition theme
While high-fat diets like ketogenic eating may be on the rise, which recommends a macronutrient ratio with 60% to 75% of calories coming from healthy fat sources, the plan is not sustainable for many.
Neville recognizes the impact the ketogenic diet has had on the nutritional lifestyles but he predicts consumers will start pursuing more balanced eating plans.
“It’s difficult to sustain and it’s not for everybody,” he said.
“I think what will happen is, there will be a balance of somewhere in between. The ‘faddish’ part of keto is MCT oil combined with other types of fats. At some point it has to balance out where you can get it from every source.”
Solving for convenience
As a company specializing in custom dairy and specialty lipid ingredients, CoreFX is well tooled to provide a range of keto solutions and other fat-based applications for its customers from animal, dairy, and plant-based sources.
However, it can be a challenge for consumers to fit higher amounts of healthy fats from various sources.
“Consumers are trying to get as much fat as they can into a diet, but it’s very difficult to do in the realm of a day,” Neville said.
To address this, CoreFX has developed multiple dry stable powders that allow emulsified fats to be mixed easily with dry-based food products and beverages.
The company’s dry lipid solutions also deliver enhanced texture and mouthfeel while meeting desired clean label and nutritional properties.
“One of our big pushes, for instance, is an omega portfolio of dry stable oils not necessarily just from fish oils,” Neville added. “That means we can accommodate the vegan community with Omega-3s being one of their biggest deficit.”
Where does saturated fat stand?
Opinions of saturated fat found in animal products are evolving, however it’s still not exonerated from the prevailing nutritional advice for the general American public.
The World Health Organization, for example, recently issued a draft recommendation that 10% or less of calories should come from saturated fat and less than 1% from trans-fats.
Dr. Robert Lustig, previously told FoodNavigator-USA senior editor Elaine Watson that saturated fats have been inaccurately simplified in dietary advice.
“There are meat and dairy saturated fats, and they are not the same. Red meat and poultry saturated fat is even chain fatty acids, and dairy saturated fats are odd chain fatty acids with a different phospholipid signature. Turns out that when you look at odd chain fatty acids with that phospholipid signature, that is actually protective against cardiovascular diseases, but they all get lumped into this thing called saturated fat,” Lustig said.
According to Neville, while there is some evidence that saturated fats are beneficial, this debate will likely continue for some time.
“Any nutritionist would find it hard to even say today that saturated fat is OK, it was just so built into the psyche,” Neville said.
“I think every nutritional body is going to be very careful about addressing this.”
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