There is just something about dietary fat. We either obsess about removing it from our diet, or as is the current knowledge base, we attempt to include it in our diet for its variety of health benefits. That’s a lot. When you focus on nutrient density first then control your calories. you start adding some healthy fat into your diet naturally. We know that healthy fats contribute to hormone health, body fat loss and longevity due to the vital nutrients that they provide.
Let me back up a little bit.
Presently there are only two essential fatty acids. EPA Eicosapentaenoic acid, and DHA, Docosahexaenoic acid. Fortunately, both are found in fatty fish and can be taken supplementally as omega-3 fish oil. These fatty acids are essential because our body needs them for numerous functions including brain health, cardiovascular function, insulin sensitivity and other benefits. Of course, we should get our fats from our diet.
Let’s get a quick breakdown of commonly eaten fats. Saturated fats like butter, coconuts, beef, lamb and cheese. While incorrectly demonized, we don’t want to over consume these. Moderation is key.
Monounsaturated fats like olive, avocados, pumpkin seeds, almonds are really healthy or our hormones and lowering cholesterol
Polyunsaturated fats like fatty fish and walnuts
Mono and polyunsaturated fats are rarely found separate from each other. Some foods are just higher in one type than the other which is why I categorized them the way I did.
Trans fats include seed oils like Canola, Rapeseed, Sunflower, Cotton and Safflower oil. While they are high in omega-6 fats, you want to avoid using these in your food because they are oxidized fats that can have negative damage to your cellular health. I know some health gurus argue that they are fine. You decide. I prefer to stay away from fats made in a lab and not found in nature, it’s just my thing.
C15 Fats: What Are The Benefits?
Recently there’s been a ton of buzz concerting C15 fats. Both research studies and longevity seminars are heavenly discussing the influence of C15 on improved metabolic function and anti-aging. C15 or ,pentadecanoic acid, is now considered an essential fatty acid. Surprisingly, C15 is present in very small amounts in our body. So small that it was used as a biomarker for metabolic healthy for decades. C15 was actually measured in blood.
Evidence suggests that full fat diary such as aged cheeses, cottage cheese, yogurt and butter contain high amounts of C15 fat. Additional data also suggests that grass fed butter contains more C15 fat than regular butter. C15 is also present in meats such as fatty beef, bison and lamb as well as fish.
I think it’s safe to assume that grass fed cuts of beef are going to be higher in C15. Research actually suggests that grass fed sources have double the C15 fat content.
Numerous studies have looked at so called, blue zones, for the longevity of their residents. One such zone is Sardinia. A staple food of their diet is Pecarino Romano.
Consequently, studies have found that Sardininas have the highest C15 levels of all the longevity zones.
So What Are The Benefits of C15 fats?
Studies suggest that C15 is similarly effective to the diabetes drug metformin. Metaformin acts on an enzyme known as AMPK, which senses energy. AMPK increases fatty acid oxidation, induces autophagy,which is the break down of proteins and “old” cells, and inhibits Mtor which is activated when calories are consumed. In overweight individuals who have taken metformin, AMPK activation helps them lose weight. For those of us in the longevity space, fasting and caloric restriction activates AMPK as well. That’s why we do it. We want this celluar turnover. C15 activates AMPK and PPAR-a ,which makes it an anticancer, anti microbial, anti fibroid and anti inflammatory compound I want to pause for a second.
I don’t want to make it seem like you should eat low protein (your shouldn’t) or that you can never eat for AMPK (I want you to eat). C15, like metformin and fasting, impacts the various hallmarks of aging in the body by increasing mitochondrial health and lowering proinflamamtory markers in the body. C15 repairs mitochondrial function by protecting and repairing the cell membrane.
Seed oils, for example, damage the cell membrane. This very much might be a “we told you so” moment. The Paleo advocates were telling us to eat full fat dairy for a decade or two. Research studies have always concluded that full fat dairy was better than low fat dairy countless times. Currently about 1 in 3 people have 2% C15 blood levels or below. As of this writing, 2% blood levels of C15 is the recommendation for longevity.
Full fat diary contains roughly 1% of C15. It’s not a lot but it’s the highest food source. What Foods Are High In C15 Whole milk (particularly A2 milk) Grass fed butter Sour cream Aged Cheeses such as cheddar, swiss, colby and pecorino Yogurt Butter How Would You Include C15 foods in your diet while tracking calories?
Calories matter. Yes nutrient density should be the first goal of any diet or nutrition program but a close second is your calories. You can’t just eat as much food as you want and expect to change your body just because you’re eating good foods.
When factoring in C15 foods in your diet, you do need to realize that they are more calorically dense than a carbohydrate or protein source.
I think adding a full fat Greek yogurt with breakfast or lunch and adding some cheese or cottage cheese with dinner is a fine way to go. Just don’t go crazy with the portion size.
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