|
|
| Back to the Table of Contents |
Feeding Our Kids:
Fats essential for growth
|
What I Choose to Buy at the
Co-op ... and Why
A series of monthly articles by members of our Nutrition &
Education committee |
by Alyssa Colton
|
Experts usually point to a
diet high in fat as the main cause of obesity and recommend a diet that
has between 25% and 35% of calories from fat.1 Yet more and more
researchers are challenging this conception. A literature review
published in Preventive Medicine in 2006 concluded that the Women's
Health Initiative study "concurred with many other studies in finding
that dietary fat intake is not a significant risk factor for CHD
(coronary heart disease) or breast cancer."2
The role of fats in the diet, though controversial, is clearly
important. It is important to not only eat a healthy diet as adults,
but also to understand the nutritional needs of children, beginning
with the mother's diet during-- and even before--pregnancy. Current
recommendations advise a higher intake of polyunsaturated and
monounsaturated fats over saturated fats. However, expectant mothers
might want to be careful of consuming excessive polyunsaturated fats,
such as found in margarine and vegetable oils, as these have been
linked to a higher incidence of eczema.3 According to Sally Fallon and
Mary Enig, a nutritionist and biochemist, polyunsaturated oils high in
omega-6 are associated with other health problems, including a higher
risk of heart disease and cancer, learning disorders, and impaired
immune function. In the 1970s, the American Heart Association refrained
from recommend- ing an increase in polyunsaturated fats because they
were implicated in causing cancer.4
The problem with polyunsaturated fats seems to specifically be
associated with those high in omega-6 fats. Because Western diets
usually contain a surplus of omega-6 oils, Fallon and Enig recommend
increasing your intake of omega-3 oils, noting that deficiencies "have
been associated with asthma, heart disease, and learning
deficiencies."5 Fish oil, high in omega- 3, has been shown in one study
to have a protective effect against the development of asthma.6 Another
good source of omega-3 fats are eggs from organic, free-range chickens.
Experts agree that a low fat diet is not advisable for infants and
toddlers. Saturated fat and cholesterol are the primary components to
breast milk, and are essential for growth on many levels. Saturated
fats aid in bone growth, protecting the liver, helping to assimilate
fatty acids, and boosting the immune system. They also play an
important role in the utilization of calcium and help protect our
digestive systems from harmful microorganisms. 7 Fallon and Enig
discourage the use of soy formula because it lacks adequate fat and can
interfere with hormonal development.
Upon weaning, pediatricians recommend whole milk. Parents concerned
about fat in the diets of growing children may do more harm than good.
Children given rice milk, soy milk, or juice instead of cow's milk are
at risk for kwashiorkor (a disease of nutritional deficiency) and
excessive diarrhea, resulting in failure to thrive.8
The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends low fat milk be given
after the age of two, but there are potential drawbacks of shifting to
a low fat diet. One study noted that children given low fat milk
usually made up for the fat in other foods.9 In addition, children on a
low fat diet had deficient levels of necessary vitamins and minerals.10
In another study, researchers concluded that "dietary fat restriction
may have some small, but measurable, effects upon growth."11 Low
cholesterol has also been associated with higher rates of depression
and aggression.12 Fallon and Enig recommend butter, eggs, organic
meats, extra virgin olive oil (in small amounts), unrefined flax seed
oil, and coconut oil and milk as nourishing sources for fats.
There is one point that all the experts now agree on: trans fats, which
come in the form of hydrogenated oils, usually in baked goods, are
implicated in a whole host of health problems and should be avoided as
much as possible. Trans fats are artificially made from polyunsaturated
oils and are linked to, among other disorders, higher rates of obesity,
diabetes, low birth weight babies, sterility, and problems with
lactation.13
All experts agree that some fat is essential in the diet. Whether
saturated fat is the evil it is touted to be is still controversial. In
the book Good Calories, Bad Calories, award-winning science writer Gary
Taubes lays out a mountain of evidence that strongly suggests that
sugar and white flour may be the real culprits in obesity, heart
disease, cancer, and diabetes. The best course for feeding our children
may be focusing on reducing these non-nutrients, instead of focusing on
natural fats, which have been consumed by humans long before our
current obesity epidemic. Given that the current state of our health is
generally worse than it was thirty years ago, when low fat diets became
popular, it's time to rethink our perspective on a healthy diet, for
the sake of our children, as well as ourselves.
|
Notes
|
1.
American Heart Association (2009). Table: "Dietary recommendations for
children." www.americanheart.org (1 June).
2. Rothstein, W. (2006). "Dietary fat, coronary heart disease, and
cancer." Preventive Medicine 43. 356–60. www.sciencedirect.com (21 May).
3. Sausenthaler. S. et al. (2007). "Maternal diet during pregnancy in
relation to eczema and allergic sensitization in the offspring at 2 y
of age." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (February) 85:2. 530–37.
4. Taubes, G. (2007). Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the
Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease. New York:
Knopf.
5. Fallon, S., with Enig, M. (2001). Nourishing Traditions. 2nd ed.,
p.11. Washington, DC: New Trends.
6. Olsen, S., et al. (2008). "Fish oil intake compared with olive oil
intake in late pregnancy and asthma in the offspring." American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition (July) 88:1. 167–75.
7. Fallon and Enig, p.11.
8. See "Low vitamin D, rickets, and nutritional deficiencies." (2001).
Pediatric Alert (12 April) 26:7. 37– 40; and Smith, M.M., and Lifshitz,
F. (1994). "Excess fruit juice consumption as a contributing factor in
nonorganic failure to thrive." Pediatrics (March) 93:3. 438–43.
9. Pelletier, D., and Kendall, A. (1999). "Nutrition and dairy industry
benefits associated with promoting lowfat milk." Family Economics &
Nutrition Review 12:1. 3–14.
10. Obarzanek, E., et al. (2001). "Long-term safety and efficacy of a
cholesterol-lowering diet in children with elevated low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol." Pediatrics (February) 107:2. 256–65.
11. Kaplan, R.M., and Toshima, M.T. (1992). "Can a reduced fat diet
cause retardation in child growth?" Preventive Medicine 21:1. 33–52.
12. Fallon and Enig, p.12.
13. Fallon and Enig, p.15.
|
| Back to the Table of Contents |
|
|
|
