We're big fans of fat over here at Platinum Naturals
That's because this often-misunderstood macronutrient is vital to our overall health. The problem is, the caloric value of fat can be scary for many people. It's because of this that the beneficial hormonal and metabolic effects of fats are often overlooked. Let's take a look at why fat intake is important for nutrient absorption.
The thing is, fat intake carries a wide array of health benefits and influence a variety of processes in the body including hormone regulation, cognitive performance, energy production and of course, nutrient absorption. Cutting or significantly lowering beneficial fats over a long period of time from your diet can also have negative impacts on your overall health.
Now that we’ve given you our quick intro into dietary fat, let's take a deeper dive into fat intake in relation to nutrient absorption and why we've created our award-winning Omega Absorb delivery system that suspends nutrients in healthy oils (aka “fats”) to increase their absorption and make the nutrients available to your body throughout the day
Fats pass through anywhere in the intestinal system
By suspending nutrients in healthy oils we're able to increase the bioavailability of the nutrients across the intestinal system and improve their delivery to the liver by protecting nutrients from harsh stomach acid. Pairing soluble and fat-soluble nutrients with a fat carrier increases absorption as fats pass through virtually anywhere in the intestinal tract, unlike non-fat substances that require specific receptor sites.
Not convinced? Let's look at a couple of studies that support the idea that oil is easily absorbed by the cell membranes in your body:
- First, a 2004 study found that substantially greater absorption of carotenoids, your body’s main source of vitamin A, was observed when salads were consumed with full-fat salad dressings rather than with fat-free dressings
- In another example, a study by Cui et al (2009) showed that when curcumin is encapsulated in a microemulsion droplet, the body absorbs more than 95% in 24 hours. Without oils, the body is only able to absorb slightly less than 20%
- A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that soybean oil enhanced the bioavailability of 4 different carotenoids in a salad when consumed together
- A randomized feeding trial in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research by Wiley showed that the bioavailability of the polyphenols found in tomato was enriched when ingested with refined olive oil
Oxygen and moisture are known to cause destruction to the active ingredients in supplements. The healthy oils act as a barrier and protect the nutrients from oxygen and moisture. Our Omega Absorb delivery system uses healthy oils to protect the nutrients in our supplements from oxygen and moisture.
Improved Compliance
Let's not forget about the simple fact that supplementation protocols can be tough to comply with when your supplement is hard to take. For some, tablets are often difficult to swallow and digest, and sometimes leave an unpleasant taste. Our products made with Omega Absorb are easy to swallow and easy to digest.
Remember, fat isn't just a macronutrient measured in calories, it is an important factor in cellular health and needed for the absorption of nutrients in the body.
