| I've written many times in the last couple years | | | | typically very lean and heart disease was virtually |
| about the mistaken beliefs in society about saturated | | | | non-existant. |
| fat and the false perception in the media AND with | | | | However, when researchers followed up with |
| MOST health professionals that saturated fat is bad | | | | islanders that had moved away from their native |
| for you. | | | | island and adopted a typical western diet, the heart |
| If you've seen in some of my articles, I've even | | | | disease factors were through the roof. |
| showed you why saturated fat can even be GOOD | | | | In fact, did you know that although saturated fat |
| for you in some cases, despite every health/fitness | | | | intake does increase your LDL bad cholesterol, it |
| professional in the world just accepting the false | | | | actually increases your HDL good cholesterol even |
| belief that it's bad for you. | | | | further, hence improving your overall cholesterol ratio, |
| I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to FINALLY | | | | which has been proven to be more important that |
| see a big name publisher have some guts to publish | | | | just total cholesterol level (actually total cholesterol is |
| an article about why everyone in the world may be | | | | an almost useless number... inflammation is the REAL |
| wrong about their beliefs about saturated fat. | | | | problem, but that's a whole different topic). |
| I received my new issue of Men's Health magazine | | | | Another fact worth noting in favor of saturated fat... |
| over the weekend, and they have a huge 6-page | | | | Saturated fat is comprised of various different |
| article in there about the faulty research in the past | | | | types... the 3 most common types are stearic acid, |
| about saturated fat, and some new emerging | | | | palmitic acid, and lauric acid. |
| research that is showing why it may actually be more | | | | Stearic acid is found in animal fat and cocoa in higher |
| good for you than you would believe. | | | | levels. Research continues to show that stearic acid |
| I've got to give them credit... the article was VERY | | | | has no negative impacts on heart disease risks. If |
| well researched and put together beautifully to | | | | anything, it's either neutral or beneficial. In fact, your |
| summarize where the studies in the past have gone | | | | liver breaks down stearic acid into a |
| wrong, and why recent studies are showing that | | | | monounsaturated fat called oleic acid, which is the |
| everyone may have been wrong for the last 5 | | | | same type of fat that makes up most of |
| decades about saturated fat. | | | | heart-healthy olive oil. Bet you didn't know that! |
| I'd highly suggest you read the entire article if you | | | | Lauric acid is beneficial as well. Not only has it been |
| can. If not, I'm going to try to give you a quick | | | | shown to increase your HDL good cholesterol levels |
| summary of the findings here since it was a long | | | | significantly, but it is also lacking in most Americans |
| article... | | | | diet and has even been shown to have some |
| First of all, did you realize that although doctors, | | | | powerful immune-boosting effects potentially. It is |
| nutritionists, fitness professionals, and the media all | | | | even being studied currently in HIV/AIDS research to |
| have told you that it's a FACT that saturated fats | | | | help improve immune function in patients. |
| are bad for you, this "FACT" has actually never been | | | | Tropical oils such as coconut and palm are the best |
| proven! | | | | sources of lauric acid. |
| It's actually not a "fact" at all. It was a hypothesis! | | | | Palmitic acid is the other main component of |
| This goes all the way back to a flawed research | | | | saturated fat and has also been shown to increase |
| study from the 1950's where a guy named Ancel | | | | HDL good cholesterol to the same, if not greater |
| Keys published a paper that laid the blame on dietary | | | | extent than LDL bad cholesterol, thereby making it |
| fat intake for the increasing heart disease | | | | either neutral or beneficial, but certainly not bad for |
| phenomenon. | | | | you. |
| However, there were major flaws to his study. For | | | | So, if all of these researchers have tried so hard |
| one, in his conclusions he only used data from a small | | | | over the years to point the finger at saturated fat, |
| portion of the countries where data was available on | | | | but have continued to fail to show a correlation |
| fat consumption vs heart disease death rate. When | | | | between saturated fat and heart disease risk, what |
| researches have gone back in and looked at the data | | | | are the REAL culprits for heart disease? |
| from all of the countries, there actually was no link | | | | Well, here are the REAL causes of heart disease risk: |
| between fat consumption and heart disease deaths. | | | | *Trans fats (artificially hydrogenated oils) |
| So his conclusions were actually false. | | | | *Heavily refined vegetable oils such as soy, |
| Second, his blaming of fat intake for heart disease | | | | cottonseed, corn oil, etc. (inflammatory inside the |
| was only one factor that was considered. There was | | | | body, and typically throw the omega-6/omega-3 |
| no consideration of other factors such as smoking | | | | balance out of whack) |
| rates, stress factors, sugar intake, exercise | | | | *Too much refined sugar in the diet (including high |
| frequency, or other lifestyle factors. | | | | fructose corn syrup) |
| Basically, his conclusions which blamed heart disease | | | | *Too much refined starches such as white bread, |
| deaths on fat intake were really just a shot in the | | | | low fiber cereals, etc |
| dark about what a possible cause may have been, | | | | *Smoking |
| even though all of those other factors I just | | | | *Stressful lifestyle |
| mentioned, plus many others, may be the bigger | | | | *Lack of exercise |
| cause. | | | | *Other lifestyle factors |
| Unfortunately, Keys study has been cited for over 5 | | | | So why does it seem that so many attempts over |
| decades now as "fact" that saturated fat is bad for | | | | the years have tried to lay the blame on saturated |
| you. As you can see, there certainly is nothing factual | | | | fat... do you think it might have anything to do with |
| about it. | | | | the muli-billion dollar vegetable oil industry, which has |
| Since that time, numerous other studies have been | | | | taken over for cooking oils for what used to be |
| conducted trying to link saturated fat intake to heart | | | | mostly animal fats and tropical oils in decades past... |
| disease. The majority of these studies have failed to | | | | Hmm... do multi-billion dollar industries really have an |
| correlate ANY risk at all from saturated fat. A couple | | | | influence on the way data is portrayed to the public? |
| of them made feeble attempts at linking saturated | | | | I think you know the answer to that! And don't even |
| fat to heart disease, however, it was later shown | | | | get me started on the cholesterol meds industry! |
| that in those studies, the data was flawed as well. | | | | Again, I digress. |
| Do we actually have evidence that saturated fat | | | | I hope this article has opened your eyes about the |
| may actually be good for you instead? | | | | truth about saturated fat and how you've been |
| Well, let's consider a few examples... | | | | misled over the years. |
| Did you know that there are several well known | | | | The true FACT is that saturated fat is a neutral |
| tribes in Africa... the Masai, Samburu, and Fulani tribes... | | | | substance in your body, and even beneficial at times, |
| where their diet consists mostly of raw whole milk, | | | | not a deadly risk factor for disease. The REAL risk |
| tons of red meat, and cows blood? Despite their | | | | factors are what I listed above. |
| very high saturated fat intake, they display | | | | Keep in mind that this does NOT mean that eating 5 |
| extremely low body fat levels, and heart disease to | | | | pounds of bacon for breakfast every morning is |
| natives of the tribe is virtually non-existant. | | | | good for you, and you should only eat foods high in |
| Now most critics of this example will say that it must | | | | saturated fats. Rather, you still need a to strike a |
| be related to superior genetics... however this is false, | | | | balance for optimal health... this means fruits, |
| as when they studied tribesman who had moved out | | | | vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy meats, eggs, and |
| of their native lands and started eating more modern | | | | small amounts of whole or sprouted grains. |
| day diets, their blood chemistry skyrocketed with | | | | Again, animals raised in an unhealthy manner are not |
| heart disease risk factors. | | | | good for you... this is the case with most |
| This is true of certain pacific island countries | | | | commercially raised meat and grain fed meat. On the |
| inhabitants as well. Several studies have shown that | | | | other hand, wild game meats, grass fed meats, free |
| certain pacific island nations had VERY high intakes of | | | | range chickens and eggs (preferably organic) are |
| total fat as well as saturated fat from tropical fats | | | | healthy animals, and therefore the meat is generally |
| such as palm, coconut, and cocoa. Despite super-high | | | | healthy for us with better omega-3 to omega-6 |
| intakes of saturated fat, these island natives were | | | | ratios than standard meats. |