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In this week’s video, we’ll take a look at another category of food that I argue is one of the worst for type 2 diabetes and blood sugar metabolism. Let’s dive in.

Hey everyone, my name is Jeremiah Farias. I’m a registered dietitian and I’ve been researching health and wellness for over a decade now. I help adults suffering from blood sugar dysregulation issues, things like type two diabetes, pre -diabetes and low energy levels. I hope you enjoy today’s video. In part one, I reviewed why refined and fortified brains are problematic not only for type two diabetes, but overall health. Today, we’ll continue the conversation on the worst foods for type two diabetes by looking at polyunsaturated fats.

what they are, where they’re found, why are they problematic, and what can we replace them with? Next, let’s discuss polyunsaturated fats. So what are polyunsaturated fats? Let’s go over the various types of fatty acids that are typically within our diet and our food. So we have monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats, but we won’t discuss trans fats today. So monounsaturated fat, monamine 1, that indicates one double bond within

the chain, then polyunsaturated fats refers to two or more double bonds. And then finally saturated fat refers to the fact that there’s no double bonds. All carbons are fully saturated, usually with hydrogens. So why are these polyunsaturated fats an issue? It has to do with their structure and it has to do with what occurs and what happens to them once they enter our body. When we consume various fats, they are used,

for structural purposes, including the structural component of our cell membranes. So each cell has this phospholipid bilayer and fatty acids that we consume make up that phospholipid bilayer. You also are gonna have these polyunsaturated fats being incorporated into the mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell. They produce energy, cellular energy, called ATP. So when they make up the polyunsaturated fats,

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make up the membrane structure of both cells and the mitochondria, it increases the leakiness of the cell. So you have things that are floating in and out. One paper puts it well where it says an increase in omega -3 acyl chains within the intermetochondrial membrane will replace the omega -6 polyunsaturated fat acyl chains.

and thereby influence something called micro viscosity. This may cause the membrane to become leaky and allow for more proton leak back into the matrix. So with this leakiness, you have essentially a wasting of energy and insufficient cell, insufficient energy production, which is going to impact blood sugar regulation and blood sugar control. Because if you remember in previous videos, I argued that type two diabetes,

is a result of impaired cellular energy production. We’re having issues utilizing glucose within the cell, converting glucose into that ATP. So, polyunsaturated fats also pose an oxidative liability. When the polyunsaturated fats are making up the cell and the mitochondrial membrane, they are prone to damage and oxidation. When they’re oxidized, this damages the cell and…

damages the ability of the cell to function properly. You damage the mitochondrial membrane. You impair the mitochondria’s ability to produce cellular energy. And so these double bonds are easily oxidized. And this means that an electron is stolen by a free radical. And this graph right here shows how much more polyunsaturated fats are

prone to this oxidation or forming or to form lipid peroxides, then monounsaturated fats and saturated fats. Monounsaturated fats and saturated fats don’t even show up on the chart where the omega -6 polyunsaturated fats and the omega -3 polyunsaturated fats do. And you have DHA, docohexanoic acid, is the most prone to this lipid peroxidation.

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The last concern worth mentioning about polyunsaturated fats has to do with their harmful and toxic byproducts. I just mentioned the formation of things called lipid peroxides. So lipid peroxides are the oxidation or oxidative degradation of fats or lipids. And these lipid peroxides result in accelerated apoptosis, which is like programmed cell death and death of the cell, which we don’t.

want that we want a properly well functioning cell and the lipid peroxidation increases oxidative stress and it increases and is associated with insulin resistance, beta cell dysfunction, which remember beta cells are the cells in the pancreas that release insulin impaired glucose tolerance and ultimately the development of type two diabetes. And then lipid peroxidation there are

byproducts from the formation of lipid peroxides. And these include MDA, malanedialdehyde, and 4 -hydroxy -2 -nonanol, known as 4 -HNE. And both of those toxic byproducts have long been linked with metabolic health or worse than metabolic health in patients with type 2 diabetes. Hey everyone, I wanted to take a quick break from the content and share with you a free guide that I created. It’s titled, Five Steps to Improving Your Blood Sugar Metabolism.

In it, you’re going to find a lot of practical information that you can begin implementing today to start changing the way that your body uses glucose in the cell. And if you’ve checked out any of my previous videos, this is what I believe is the primary culprit that’s driving blood sugar metabolism issues like type two diabetes and pre -diabetes. You’re going to get specific information going over the importance of protein, the types of protein to consume.

and how to even calculate how much protein should you be having on a regular basis. The quality of carbohydrates you should be including in your diet. Again, previous videos I’ve gone over highlight carbohydrates aren’t the problem. It’s your body’s ability to utilize them. However, quality of carbohydrates, quality of food do matter. So in this guide, you’ll find information on the carbohydrates, certain fats that we want to avoid or limit, and the others that we want to include and prioritize, along with a lot more information. You’ll be able to find them.

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the link to download this guide in the description below. So where are these poly -insaturated fats found? They’re found in what most people, including myself, would deem as unhealthy foods, but they’re also found in what a lot of people would consider as healthy foods. So let’s start with the unhealthy foods. Seed oils are a primary source of poly -insaturated fats within most Americans and even other developed countries’ diets. And…

Seed oils include vegetable oil, corn oil, safflower, sunflower, soybean, canola oil. And these are going to be very commonly used in fast food restaurants. They’re used in processed foods. And so if you’re consuming fast food and even in restaurant food in general, they are likely going to be using these seed oils to cook in. And the next and last unhealthy food, I guess it depends on the person, but.

Chicken or specifically fatty chicken and fatty pork are very rich in polyunsaturated fats. The reason for that is chicken and pork are primarily fed corn and soy. Now, if you remember, corn oil and soybean oil are rich in polyunsaturated fats. Because chickens and pigs have one stomach, they’re known as monogastric animals like us, the fat that they consume then makes up their…

body fat. Given they’re consuming primarily corn and soy, their fat source is from basically corn and soy oil, the fats that are found naturally in those foods, making up their fat tissue. So this is something to consider. It’s very hard, unfortunately, now to find chicken and pork that is low in polyunsaturated fats because that’s influenced by their diet. Now,

What are these quote unquote healthy foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fats? These include fatty fish, things like salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, and this includes nuts and seeds. There are some exceptions to nuts and seeds though. So macadamia nuts are very rich in and primarily monounsaturated fats, similar to something you’d find in olive oil, avocados, avocado oil, and

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Other nuts like cashews and hazelnuts, these are a bit lower in the polyunsaturated fats, but the vast majority of other nuts and seeds are very rich in polyunsaturated fats. And this isn’t to say that one should avoid fatty fish or even nuts and seeds. Fatty fish is quite nutritious and it contains a lot of trace minerals, vitamins and minerals.

that are hard to find in other foods and other land animals. And so I’m a fan of incorporating fatty fish, but I would limit your intake to maybe one to two times per week and no more. That way you’re not getting too much of the easily oxidized poly and sedric fats, namely the omega -3s. And then nuts and seeds, I would use those more as an occasional sort of condiment.

versus relying on them as a staple for snacks, which many people do. Many people that I work with are often relying on handfuls of almonds and cashews and nut butters for snacks, for meals. And so that’s where we’d want to limit our consumption of nuts and seeds if we’re heavily relying on them. But if you’re consuming them on occasion here and there, I really don’t see an issue. One thing to keep in mind is if you’re consuming,

all of these foods, both the unhealthy and the healthy foods fairly regularly, but with each individual food, you have it maybe once a week, but because you’re having all of them present in the diet on a fairly regular basis, that is contributing to, I would argue, a net excessive amount of polyunsaturated fat. So that’s something to keep in mind, your net overall intake and exposure to these polyunsaturated fats in your diet.

So given that I recommend limiting your intake of polyunsaturated fats, where should we be getting our fats from? And as you can imagine, I argue prioritizing monounsaturated fats and saturated fats should be the goal. Where do we find these? So first and foremost, monounsaturated fats are found in things like olives, olive oil. You can find it in avocados, avocado oil, macadamia nuts, and macadamia nut oil. Those are very rich in monounsaturated fats. And…

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Those are less controversial. Most people know that those are associated with improved health. The saturated fats, this is gonna be things like butter, ghee, coconut oil, chocolate because of the cacao. Also ruminant animal fat. So this is red meat, things like bison, beef, lamb, wild game. Their fat is going to contain saturated fat. This is another common misunderstanding or misconception that red meat is,

exclusively saturated fat. Things like coconut oil, butter and ghee, those in fact are primarily saturated fat and chocolate. But red meat fat is actually a combination of monounsaturated fat, like you find in olives, on avocados, but also saturated fat. But these are the foods that I believe we should be prioritizing. And there’s some interesting papers that I wanted to review. They’re animal studies, but still, I think, again, very, very interesting.

So in animal models, replacing tallow, which comes from beef, for corn oil, dose -dependently protects against alcoholic fatty liver disease. Then when you look at omega -3s and omega -6s, they show an increased ability of the chemical, aloxan, to induce diabetes.

while saturated fats are protective. So when you consume or are incorporating omega -6s and omega -3s in these models, the rats are more susceptible to the toxin causing diabetes where the saturated fats protect against this toxin causing diabetes. And then last, replacing olive oil with sunflower oil increases age -associated accumulation, DNA damage. So the replacing the monounsaturated,

for the polyunsaturated, you see increased DNA damage. So swapping polyunsaturated fats for the mono unsaturated fats and saturated fats is going to allow us to be improving our health, improving our cellular energy production and lead us to closer to reversing our type two diabetes. The topic of PUFAs or polyunsaturated fats can be a bit complicated. So I will be diving deeper into this topic.

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on future videos, especially as it relates to omega -3s. Additionally, I understand that this information is also a bit controversial and I do my best to share the research behind my concerns and recommendations, but I would understandably expect some pushback. I will also be creating videos, sort of dismantling the concerns around saturated fat and red meat as they relate to

Things like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol levels, cancer, digestive issues, and even more. So be on the lookout for those. Please let me know what questions do you have about polyunsaturated fats? What have you heard about polyunsaturated fats like the omega -6s and the omega -3s down in the comments. I hope you enjoyed today’s video. If you any questions about the content that I reviewed in today’s video, let me know down in the comments. You can also request topics that you’d like me to cover in the future.

If you’re interested in working one -on -one with me, the best place to start is scheduling a free 30 minute discovery call that I offer. I am credentials with a couple of insurance companies. So there will be a link in the description that allows you to check if I accept your insurance. Don’t forget to download my free guide, five steps to improving your blood sugar metabolism. That link will also be in the description. If you enjoyed this video, please don’t forget to give it a thumbs up, share it with someone that you think would benefit and enjoy it. And also don’t forget to subscribe.

I’ll be releasing new videos every week and I don’t want you to miss those. Thanks again for taking the time to watch this video. Take care. Have a wonderful day.