More About Fats and Oils

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In my research on fats and oils, I found out a few things I didn’t know and discovered some more research about seed oils. The issues raised about seed oils have always been related to how unhealthy seed oils are rather than the overconsumption of seed oils. But are they as hazardous as they’re made out to be?

I Bet You Didn’t Know…

Did you know that lard comes from rendering—melting down—pig fat?

Did you know that tallow comes from rendering beef fat?

The fatty acid arachidonic acid is used to make prostaglandins, hormone-like fatty acids that can impact inflammation. The highest amounts are found in animal fats, not seed oils. The gurus’ claim that all seed oils cause inflammation isn’t true; it’s the amount consumed that matters.

The deadliest fatty acids are trans-fatty acids (TFAs). They can be made from seed oils that have been hydrogenated or saturated fats that are kept at high frying temperatures for long periods of time.

Research Update on Oils

Researchers collected data on the production of trans-fatty acids from cooking with seed oils, including those that contain hydrogenated oils, which are man-made by heating oils at high temperature. They found that as long as seed oils didn’t contain hydrogenated oils, keeping the frying temperature below 400° didn’t produce appreciable TFAs in any seed oils tested.  

The Bottom Line

When cooking with animal- or plant-based fats and oils, it’s important to keep the cooking temperature below the smoke point to limit the production of TFAs, which are associated with heart disease. Also, choose oils without hydrogenated fats in them.

To reduce inflammation, it doesn’t really matter whether you use seed oils or lard or tallow—it’s the amount you consume that’s going to make the difference. Eat less. Eat better. Move more.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nutrients 2022, 14, 1489. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu14071489

Cooking with Fat

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Paula and I watch a lot of cooking shows, which led me to wonder: what are the best types of fat to use while cooking? In addition to oils and seed oils, the question would include animal and vegetable sources. I’ll leave taste off the table (or cooktop) because everyone has an opinion. Cooking would include a quick fry in a pan like eggs, sautéing vegetables, cooking meats, and deep-fat frying.

The key to choosing which fat to use is the temperature where the oil starts burning, referred to as the smoke point. Here are the ones I think are most applicable to everyday cooking:

You may wonder why olive oil is listed three times; unless it says “extra virgin,” it will contain some other vegetable oils as well.

Most cooktops generate an average temperature of about 350°, so using oils and fats with smoke points above that temperature is a good idea, depending on the type of cooking you’re doing. But questions remain about seed oils and animal fats. I’ll answer those on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Maltodextrin in Moderation

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Now that we know a little about maltodextrin (MAL), let’s get into the details. I think there are two issues behind the concern about maltodextrin. The first is that MAL increases the glycemic index (GI). The GI of MAL is nearly as high as glucose, coming in at 95. That’s why it’s found in some products geared toward exercise—it becomes available quickly for energy. Energy gels for long-distance athletes contain MAL as their source of sugar. On the other hand, the resistant maltodextrin (RMAL) comes in at a paltry 5, which means it won’t impact blood sugar at all.

The second issue may be the source of the maltodextrins. The starches to make RMAL and MAL generally come from potatoes, wheat, corn, rice, and cassava. That presents issues for people who are allergic to wheat and corn. The primary source for MAL in the U.S. is corn, while wheat is the primary source in Europe; obviously, wheat is a problem for those who are allergic to wheat. Corn also gets a bad rap because almost all corn grown in the U.S. is GMO. There’s no evidence GMO foods are harmful, but many people want to stay away from bioengineered foods.

Is MAL safe to use in our food supply? Yes. Is RMAL also safe, and beneficial in our food? Yes. But it all comes down to this: how much are you going to consume? If it’s used as a stabilizer in complementary foods, manufacturers have most likely used RMAL; it wouldn’t impact blood sugar in a negative way and also gives you the benefit of fiber. But if it is MAL and you consume too much of it, it could have a negative impact on your health over time. And that’s the real story behind maltodextrin.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: National Institutes of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

What Is Resistant Maltodextrin?

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I received a question from a long-time reader last week concerning maltodextrin and why it might be bad enough to end up on some health experts’ do-not-eat list. I’ve never written about it before, so let’s take a look.

Let’s start with this: there are two forms of maltodextrin. One is known as maltodextrin (MAL) and the other is called resistant maltodextrin (RMAL). What’s the difference?

Dextrins are the indigestible component of starch; starchy foods include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and cereals. Using heat and enzymes, they’re turned into indigestible dextrins called RMAL. Resistant to what? Digestive enzymes. In simpler terms, it’s a fermentable fiber that’s been researched for its potential to lower the risk of hypoglycemia, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. What makes it special is that it can serve as a prebiotic as well as fiber.

If the RMAL is further broken down, it results in MAL; it’s used in many foods, but the difference is that it’s broken down into simple sugar molecules, which we absorb quickly. Like almost every food I talk about, a little is good but too much may be harmful. I’ll cover why on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: National Institutes of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Choosing to Live Longer

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The researchers from the study I reviewed in Tuesday’s Memo had their thoughts on why the U.S. may experience excess deaths compared to other high-income countries. They also suggested that our healthcare system isn’t serving the American people as well as it might. That may be part of the answer. Let me give you my thoughts, before the anti-seed oil gurus and vaccination opponents get started.

Healthcare Systems

Every other country in the comparison had some form of universal healthcare or a combination of public and private healthcare plans—think Medicare with more coverage for an additional purchase. While we’ve all heard stories about hip replacements taking a year to get scheduled, they provide care to everyone without considering payment first. I’m not suggesting I have any answers to the healthcare dilemma, but it’s a part of the problem.

Vaccinations

I decided to look at the vaccination rates during the COVID epidemic because the U.S. mortality rate really skyrocketed during those couple of years, far above what happened in other high-income countries. When compared to other countries’ vaccination rates, we were near the bottom of the list. I know, and hear every day, about many people who are concerned about vaccinations being problematic, but the COVID vaccine may have contributed to the lower mortality rates in other countries.

The Bottom Line

Remember the final reasons that the researchers speculated about—cardiometabolic disease? Heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes are the top killers in the U.S. along with cancer. We could dramatically reduce mortality and morbidity if we took better care of our bodies. That’s where we fail: we eat too much and we move too little. If we could change those, I’m convinced the death rates would start to tumble.

Eat less. Eat better. Move more. Today.

So, what are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: JAMA Health Forum. 2025;6(5):doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.1118

Too Many Deaths

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Recently I read an interesting study that examined the mortality rates in the United States between 1980 through 2023, including the time before, during, and after the COVID epidemic. Researchers took it one step further: they obtained mortality data from other high-income countries to compare the mortality rates between the countries while accounting for the differences in population size. The countries included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

This comparison illustrated that beginning about 1985, the U.S. had more deaths per 100 people than the average of all the other countries. In 2005, the difference increased even more to the point that the U.S. had more deaths per 100 people than every other country in the study. Over the course of the years of observation, that came to an extra 14.5 million Americans who died.

While this was an observational study, it leaves us with the question: why? We certainly spend more on healthcare per capita than any other high-income country, coming in at just over $12,000 per person, while the average of other high-income countries comes in at half that—and yet somehow they’re healthier. The researchers cited drug overdose, shooting deaths, and cardiometabolic disease as the most likely contributing factors. I’ll give you my thoughts on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: JAMA Health Forum. 2025;6(5):doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.1118

Magnesium Bonanza: Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

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Lately I’ve written about magnesium, and I often talk about eating cruciferous vegetables every day. I decided to fall back to one of my favorite recipes from my mother-in-law, Ruth, modify it a little, and give you a recipe for a great salad you can enjoy this holiday weekend. Nutritional information is at the bottom.

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

1 pound (about 5 cups, chopped) broccoli
1 pound (about 5 cups, chopped) cauliflower
1 green onion, sliced fine
4 tablespoons sunflower seeds
½ cups mayonnaise
½ cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cups bacon bits or chopped bacon
¼ teaspoon vinegar (I prefer rice wine vinegar for the milder taste)
¼ teaspoon herb blend Mrs. Dash or a blend you prefer

Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces, put into a large bowl, and mix together.

Mix together the wet and flavor-building ingredients. Pour over the vegetables and refrigerate overnight. Mix before serving. If you’re like me, I don’t like to wait, so it’s fine to eat it right away as well. You could use light versions of the mayo if that’s what you like, but at only 98 calories from sugar in the whole recipe, I wouldn’t bother with sugar substitute.

You can also adapt it to your taste. Add sliced cherry tomatoes or grapes, shredded carrots, chopped basil, sliced almonds, or maybe pomegranate seeds, or whatever ingredients you like, especially more veggies. And now I wish I’d used some purple broccoli—that would look outstanding! Other recipes add raisins or shredded Cheddar cheese, although those add more calories. The objective is to get your friends and family to eat it, so do whatever it takes to get there.

What’s the beneficial nutrients look like? First, all the phytonutrients that come in 1.5 cups of cruciferous vegetables plus some allium nutrients from the green onions. Second, the estimated magnesium level would be about 170 mg per serving. As another bonus, there would be 2,200 mg of potassium per serving, a nutrient we just don’t get enough of in our typical diet.

Compare that with the typical 80/20 burger cooked on a grill: it has no phytonutrients, 25 mg magnesium, and 250 mg potassium. We need that salad! And remember, I never said it had to taste bad. The most important point is to eat what your body needs, and it needs those veggies, even if mayo and bacon are along for the ride.

Remember to check the Health Info section of drchet.com for this and more delicious recipes. I hope you enjoy your salad and have a fun, safe, long weekend.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Is Taurine Safe?

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The title said, “Could your energy drink be fueling cancer?”

“Now what?!” was my first thought. Researchers reported in a press release that the amino acid taurine may help cancerous cells make energy to fuel their growth. Because taurine is found in energy drinks and protein supplements, I wanted to check whether this is something to be concerned about or not.

This was a complex study from the perspective of identifying what were the potential stimulators of tumor progression in bone marrow. A taurine carrier was identified. The researchers conducted tests which added taurine to specific types of leukemia cells to determine tumor progression. They concluded that further research was necessary to find something that would block taurine carriers from carrying taurine into tumor calls where they could stimulate the production of energy via glycolysis. That may be correct or not.

The methods section of the paper was over five single-spaced pages long; that doesn’t make it bad, but each unique test has to have a standard error of the method. In other words, how specific and precise does the method measure the variable?

  • Using available leukemia cell lines is a first step to test theories, but we don’t know if that’s how it would work in living human beings.
  • They did testing on rodents, but there were only a few rodents in each group.
  • On top of that, taurine is naturally produced in the body, and they specifically identified tumor sites as one of the locations where taurine is produced. How can that be differentiated from natural production and supplementation?

In my opinion, they were far too aggressive in their conclusions about energy drinks potentially fueling cancer. For now, the most conservative approach is that if you have an aggressive myeloid leukemia, consider reducing taurine intake from all sources, which would also include meats, dairy, and eggs. There’s a lot more research that has to be done before we definitively know how this information impacts the real world.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. https://scitechdaily.com/could-your-energy-drink-be-feeding-cancer-what-scientists-just-discovered/
2. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09018-7

Protect Your Brain—Eat More Magnesium

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In the last Memo, we were left with the researchers’ question: if magnesium intake and BP were not related to a neuroprotective effect, what was? The researchers had some idea based on prior research: inflammation. Let’s take a look at what they found on the follow-up to their original study.

The methodology and subject pool of the study was essentially the same as the other study with the addition of several measures of inflammation, including hs-CRP. Researchers found that as magnesium intake increased, inflammation decreased. Subjects with higher levels of magnesium intake had increased brain volumes including grey matter and white matter, but not white matter lesions. This was an observational study, so cause and effect cannot be determined, but with close to 6,000 subjects, I think we can safely say there’s a definite relationship between magnesium intake and a neuroprotective effect.

How Much Do I Need?

The average intake of magnesium was 360 mg for men and 340 mg for women. A reader recently sent me a post in which a physician recommended that everyone should take 500 mg of magnesium every day. I’m not going to go that far because there’s still too much we don’t know. The biggest issue is we don’t know where the subjects got their magnesium; this study was done in the United Kingdom and they tend to eat more plant-based foods than Americans.

I’ve written to the lead author of the study to see if they plan to publish another study breaking down the contribution from foods and from supplements—I’ll let you know what he says. For now, I’m going to recommend that we increase our consumption of the top five sources of magnesium from foods. Those are:

         1 ounce pumpkin seeds
         3 ounces spinach
         1 ounce almonds
         3 ounces avocado
         1 ounce dark chocolate

If you’re interested in more information on magnesium and its benefits, become an Insider and you can listen to a replay of the last Insider conference call. Remember: Eat less. Eat better. Move more.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: European Journal of Nutrition (2024) 63:1807–1818

How Magnesium Affects Your Brain

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If there’s one thing we can usually agree on, it’s that we want to retain as many of our important memories as we can along with the ability to learn new things. That’s why a couple of recent studies on the mineral magnesium caught my attention. Both were published in the past two years by the same research group, but the results of one inspired the second.

Researchers used data from the UK Biobank Study to examine the relationship between magnesium intake, blood pressure, and specific brain volumes. Just over 6,000 male and female subjects ages 40–73 completed the 16-month study. Brain volumes were assessed by MRI and included grey matter and white matter lesions. Dietary intake was assessed at least five times over the course of the study via the Oxford WebQ food frequency questionnaire.

The results demonstrated that high magnesium intake was associated with increased grey matter and lower volume of white matter lesions; there was no relationship between blood pressure and magnesium intake. What is also interesting was that brain volumes were stationary if magnesium intake remained stable, but if magnesium levels were low and rose, there was an increase in grey matter. It’s unclear if reducing magnesium intake would decrease grey matter.

The question is why? Prior research showed that low magnesium intake is related to increased blood pressure, but that wasn’t the case in this study. What caused the positive outcomes? We’ll look at the second study on Saturday.

The Insider conference call is tomorrow night. We’ll expand on the magnesium studies, including what supplement forms may be better than others. I’ll also be answering questions from Insiders. Become an Insider before 8 p.m. tomorrow night and you can join the discussion.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: European Journal of Nutrition (2023) 62:2039–2051