Over the years, public opinion has been getting, well, the thick of it. But is being fat really as bad as it’s made out to be? Star chef Nelson Muller followed up on this question Tuesday evening in his “Fat Compass” on ZDF. Bottom line: Fat is important—as long as you pay attention to a few things.
Macrobiotic, Low Carb, Freegan, Pescetarian, paleoFruitarian, Anthroposophic, Fast food, Raw food, Vegetarian, Junk food, Pegan, Clean eating, Vegetarian, Food combination, Mazdazan, intermittent fasting Or of course the popular convenience food, that is, ready-to-eat food. DIET are there many. So much so that some people ask themselves: What’s really normal? Undoubtedly, the answer will bring little success, as junk food lovers will treat their diet as normal as a vegetarian would.
TV and Star Chef Nelson Muller Already concerned about nutritional issues as a profession, but in her new ZDF series, nutritional style is only of secondary interest to her. In the three-part “Compass” series, Muller looks at the “basic building blocks” of our food. It debuted on Tuesday at 8:15 pm on ZDF with “Fate-Kompass”, followed by “Eweek-” (May 4 at 1:45 pm on TV and now in the media library) and “Zucker – Kompass” (on TV). May 10 at 8:15 pm and already in the media library).
this is the reason?
It’s about the fat. To be more precise: fat contained in food. Because fat has a bad reputation. Nelson Muller wants to straighten out this reputation a bit: “Good nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated at all,” he says, although no one initially made such a claim.
Therefore, this sentence should be understood more as an introduction to Mueller’s real inspiration behind the show: “I’ll show you how to live well with fat.” It should come as no surprise that the episode’s subtitle is “Living Well with Burgers, Chips, and Margarine”; And so Mueller wants for viewers to know why people choose to eat fat, for example, which diet is “healthier” or which oils you should be cooking with.
How does Nelson Mueller do this?
“Star Chef Nelson Mueller Leads the Way to Good Nutrition,” promises the off-speaker, and that’s where Mueller goes for Meal Production is going on. For example a potato chip maker in Allgu. “Today I’ll look at what role fat plays in chips,” says Muller, explaining the purpose of his visit.
In addition, the team interviews experts such as food manufacturers, doctors or consumer advocates and provides additional information via an off-speaker, such as whether Saturated fat Huh. To clarify the question of which fats are “better,” Nelson Muller arranged a test quiz in which he tasted burgers in meat, vegetarian and vegan versions.
What are insights?
It’s a whole smorgasbord of bits of wisdom that Mueller presents in his “Fat Compass.” For example, a chip maker’s quality manager explains the difference between their “kesselchips” and classic potato chips: “Normal chips are cut too thin and fried at very high temperatures to take with them a lot of fat.” ” The off-speaker does the math: Classic chips are made up of 34 percent fat, kettle chips “only” 24 percent.
But why fry in fat at all? The quality manager says, “Fat gives flavor and voiceover says fat traps flavor in a way that you can best sense them. Chips don’t get crispy without oil. Muller’s Conclusion: “About Frying The dangerous thing is simple: It tastes delicious, but you don’t feel fat.”
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But where is the problem? Thomas Bude, medical director of the Alfred Krupp Hospital, explains: “You need fat—in small amounts. That’s why it’s important that if we overeat we burn them off with physical exertion.” But since you don’t do this while you sleep, fatty food is counterproductive not only because of its digestibility, but also because of the way it is processed.
But that’s exactly where the manufacturers don’t make it easy for you, as Off-Speaker points out. Because 15 percent of the recommended daily allowance of fat can already be obtained with a portion of potato chips. But this one chunk of chips corresponds to ten different chips for the brand tested. “Of course, this is the manufacturer’s trick. Here they consider their portions to be healthy because they are especially small,” explains Britta Schottz from the Berlin Consumer Center. Tip from the show: Don’t eat the chips straight out of the bag, but put them in a small bowl.
The Problem: Chips and other greasy foods are designed to make it difficult to eat only the recommended amounts because, according to the show, they’re what’s known as “eating formula.” When a food is half carbohydrate and one third fat, it activates the craving and reward centers in the brain.
The example with chips is a very practical introduction because it is close to reality, as it probably affects a lot of people in their daily lives. But “Fat Compass” provides even more information and tips. An overview:
- In self-testing, vegetarian and vegan diets showed better results than animal-based diets in terms of cholesterol levels.
- Processed foods high in saturated fat are not great.
- Germany consumes 6.3 kg of butter per person per year.
- With nine kilograms of CO2 per kilogram, butter has a large carbon footprint. Plant based options outperform here.
- Margarine contains a lot of ingredients, flavors and artificial nutrients.
- While products made from palm oil or palm fat are problematic, it is important to stay with alternatives such as coconut oil/fat because they are less productive, for example, and sometimes rainforests are cut down for them.
- Homemade fats such as sunflower oil have many benefits, as do their vitamin content – if they are cold-pressed and unrefined.
- Refined oils are better for frying, while cold-pressed ones are more suitable for cold dishes such as salads.
- Sunflower seeds are 50 percent fat.
conclusion
Nelson Muller’s conclusion: “Fats are vital to a healthy diet. (…) As long as we figure out how much fat is in our diet and above all else. Then we can easily eat healthy.” Our conclusion on the show: Nelson Muller offers no investigative news in his “Fate-Compass”, but has basic knowledge that many people have already heard one way or another – but many may not be, otherwise FATE. That still won’t have this bad reputation.
Basic knowledge isn’t so bad, after all, 45 minutes of broadcast time will be even more of a challenge. It is enough to get an overview of the most important aspects. However, it becomes important where Müller lacks the sharpness of the definition and instead uses the words in a judgmental and undeniable manner. For example when he asked: “But now there are animal fats and there are vegetable fats. Which are healthier and better, which are worse?”
Here the counter question arises: what does “healthy” mean and what does “better” mean? and for? For example, a cow will certainly want to keep its fat for itself and milk for its calves. This is not for ethics, but part of a discussion about the quality of food. Just like looking beyond the horizon of your health. For example, when it comes to the effects of food production on the environment and climate – because ultimately the climate crisis is about your own health too.
This is where “FAT-COMPASS” succeeds in thinking outside the box when it addresses the effects of factory farming on climate or the consequences of palm oil plantation management. It is not comprehensive information, but it invites viewers to delve into it more deeply. A show like this really can’t do much more than this.
Good Fat, Bad Fat: Fat is not just fat. What matters is what you take. Find out the best sources of healthy unsaturated fatty acids in the picture gallery. Note: This is an image gallery from our collection.
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