There are six major "fat faults" in the typical western diet today (not listed in specific order):

 1. Excessive Omega 6 oils
 2. Insufficient Omega 3 oils
 3 .Presence of Hydrogenated Oils / Trans Fats
 4. Presence of Oxidised fats
 5. Lack of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
 6. Unnatural levels of saturated animal fats

Excessive Omega 6 oils
Omega 6 fatty acids are essential to the human body. Like many other things in life, however, you can have too much of a good thing. Too much Omega 6 is now recognized scientifically as being the cause or aggravator of many inflammatory conditions, weakening of the immune system, cardiovascular diseases and many cancers.

Experts believe the optimal ratio of Omega 6 : Omega 3 in the human diet should be somewhere between 1:1 and 1:4. (Paleolithic diets are believed to have been around 1:1). The modern western diet is seriously out of whack with a dangerous ratio of around 15:1

Most grain/seed/nut/legume oils are high in Omega 6 oils and low in Omega 3.

Because Omega 6 is readily found in sufficient quantities in plant food, you should do all you can to avoid adding more to your diet. The most common offenders used in cooking and used in almost all manufactured / processed foods are Soyabean Oil (often just labelled as "vegetable oil"), Corn Oil, Peanut Oil, Sunflower Oil & Safflower Oil.

Insufficient Omega 3 oils
The human diet was once strongly oriented towards Omega 3 fats. Those days are, unfortunately gone. These are the healthiest fats available and are essential to human health.

Unlike Omega 6 oils which have grown in popularity over the past fifty years due to mass production techniques and low costs to consumers, Omega 3 oils are generally more expensive. For that reason, they have become scarce in the modern diet.

Another reason for their scarcity in the modern diet is the trend away from fish in the diet. Fish is a strong source of Omega 3 oils though has become more expensive compared to lamb, beef and pork.

The cold water oily fish are the richest sources of Omega 3 oils. Salmon, sardines, herrings, mackerel and trout are prime examples.

Other than eating fish (or other seafood, including seaweeds) at least three days per week, other superior sources for Omega 3 fatty acids include:

 1. Spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables and herbs. Perilla and Purslane in particular
   are great sources, though may be hard to find;
 2. Walnuts & Walnut oil
 3. Flax Seeds & Flaxseed Oil (same as Linseed Oil)
 4. Eggs from organically fed free range chickens (Organically raised chickens whose diet
   consists of green grass, insects and worms produce eggs with TWENTY times the level of
   Omega 3 fats than barn-raised, grain fed chickens.)
 5. Wild game meats or other organically raised red meats. (Grain feeding of livestock
   reduces Omega 3 content of their meat to almost zero, and raises the level of saturated
   fat significantly.)

Presence of Hydrogenated Oils / Trans Fats
Last century saw the development of the artificial hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation is the process of taking an unsaturated (or monounsaturated or polyunsaturated) oil and processing it with a nickel catalyst. The result is that it is artificially "saturated" with additional hydrogen molecules - hence the term "hydrogenated".

These artificial trans are alien to the human cell system.

This artificial process makes liquid oils solid (margarines, for example), while partial hydrogenation makes very viscous (thin, runny) oils thicker. Another "advantage" of hydrogenation is that the oil becomes more stable and has a much increased shelf life. This makes them popular for commercial, rather than health, reasons.

The health consequences are severe. Although in the short term, serum cholesterol levels may appear to be reduced, hydrogenated oils raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels, and raise triglyceride levels - even though these adverse effects may be hidden by the apparent overall reduction in serum cholesterol levels. Accordingly, hydrogenated oils or Trans Fats are an arch enemy of your heart and cardiovascular system.

Hydrogenated oils also displace REAL and essential oils from human body cells and are now well known as major causers of cancers. It is also strongly believed that cellular malfunction caused by hydrogenated fats is a major contributing factor to the present era obesity epidemic.

In short, hydrogenated oils or trans fats are poisonous, dangerous and should be avoided at all times. This may be difficult because almost all of the main cooking oils on the market today are partially hydrogenated. Almost every manufactured / processed food - everything from biscuits to ice creams to tinned foods and sauces - contain hydrogenated oils. All your take-out foods from fast food outlets fry or deep fry using hydrogenated oils.

Never buy a processed food without checking the label. Do not buy any product with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils or trans fats.

Presence of Oxidised fats
Oxidation is a serious hazard with fats. Oxidised fats in the human body release free radical particles with the potential to cause cancers. There are two common ways for fats or oils to become oxidised:

 1. Prolonged exposure to air. Oils have a limited shelf life once the bottle or jar has been
   opened after which they gradually become rancid. Rancid oils may change color and
   begin to emit a stench, but the process will be well underway before the human eye or
   nose detects it. Many commercial oils are partially hydrogenated to extend their shelf life
   - a health problem in itself. Others include chemical preservatives and deodorizers.

 2. Heat. Despite being labeled as "cooking oils", most oils used in cooking today are not
   suitable for high heats, such as frying.

The two most stable oils for cooking, wrongfully maligned in times past, are avocado and coconut. These oils handle cooking and high temperatures without oxidation better than any of the more common or conventional cooking oils.

Also bear in mind that fast food outlets use the same vat of oil all day long. They serve bountiful supplies of carcinogenic oxidised AND hydrogenised fats and thereby are gradually killing their customers.

Lack of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
CLA is a potent cancer preventative with properties similar to Vitamin antioxidants. It is also a "fat fighting fat". Research has shown that CLA supplementation assists in weight loss.

CLA is, or at least should be, found in dairy products and red meat. Unfortunately, modern agricultural methods have reduced the quality of red meat and dairy today.

Mass agriculture with unnatural grain feeding reduces not only the Omega 3 content of red meat (as discussed above), but also reduces the CLA content to close to zero.

Some specialist butcheries these days stock game meats - not usual wild, but still raised organically. Look for these, ask for these, and be prepared to pay the extra price they will cost.

It's a similar story with milk. Grain fed and feedlot dairy cattle produce milk with reduced CLA content and elevated saturated fat content. Look for organic milk instead - and best of all seek raw organic milk (not pasteurized).

Unnatural levels of saturated animal fats
Briefly mentioned under several of the above headings, mammals and chickens are not grain eaters by nature. Farmers long ago discovered that grain feeding raises the body weight of their stock - financially important seeing that farmers auction or sell through stock yards based on weight, not nutrient quality of the meat.

Wild or organically raised animal with natural grass diets produce products (eggs, milk, meat, organs) with "natural" levels of saturated fats, the way nature intended for them and for us to eat.

Farmed fish are a similar story. Some fish farms rightfully feed fishmeal to their growing stock. Others take the poorer quality, lower cost action of unnaturally grain feeding their stock. The latter reduces the "good oils" and artificially elevates the saturated fat levels of fish.

If in doubt, ask before you buy.