Saturated Fat is Good!
We’ve been told since the 1970′s that saturated fat causes heart disease and should be avoided at all costs. This should have set off alarm bells since saturated fats make up a good percentage of our brain and body, we’ve been eating them for the entirety of human history, and our bodies have multiple systems to manage them. As detailed in Gary Taubes’ books and other places, the evidence for saturated fats being harmful was flimsy at best and possibly fraudulent. Nonetheless, the entire country massively shifted its diet. People stopped eating butter and started eating margarine (yuck!). McDonald’s, whose beef tallow french fries were “almost sacrosanct” to founder Ray Kroc, switched to PUFA-rich soy/corn oil. Low-fat and non-fat products have become so ubiquitous that on a recent trip to Florida, I had trouble finding any full-fat products at all at a small grocery.The tragedy of this is that there is mounting evidence that this shift is one of the primary causes of the raging epidemic of obesity and chronic disease that has caused so much suffering.
The anti-saturated fat sentiment continues even though there is lots of evidence that it has nothing to do with heart disease at all. Here is a meta-analysis of 21 studies from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract
It analyzed the data from 347,747 subjects and concluded that “Intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increase of CHD (coronary heart disease), stroke, or CVD (cardiovascular disease).”
In fact, saturated fats together with mono-unsaturated fats (like olive oil or avocado) should make up the bulk of the calories in your diet. Many people have found tremendous health benefits and weight loss from increasing the saturated fats in the diet. What are the best sources? Here are some of my favorites:
Kerrygold butter. It’s from Ireland where the cows are grassfed. Trader Joe’s has it for $2.69.
Heavy whipping cream. Excellent whipped with berries, in coffee, or just straight. Starbucks will make latte’s with heavy cream (though they might look at you oddly).
Coconut oil. I especially like the Artisana raw organic extra virgin one, but they’re all pretty good. You can cook with it or eat it by the teaspoon. Will keep at room temperature for two years.
MCT oil. This stands for “Medium Chain Triglycerides” and it’s just the short chain saturated fats extracted from coconut oil. Unlike coconut oil, it’s liquid at room temperature, flavorless, and odorless. You can cook with it, put it in coffee or on salad, or take a swig of it. It gives you fantastic smooth energy and helps you lose weight.
Good article. There’s growing realization that demonizing saturated fat was a mistake. Even the American Dietetic Association is paying attention to the saturated fat debate(1). As research exonerating saturated fats continues to accumulate(2,3), it’s hoped that the government will alter it’s dietary advice accordingly(4). Sadly, there’s still little interest regarding the omega-6 hazard(5).
References
1. http://www.cassandraforsythe.com/blog/The+Great+Saturated+Fat+Debate/
2. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/bu-dcd051811.php
3. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/tau-cn050511.php
4. http://dietheartpublishing.com/25-reasons-the-2010-dietary-guidelines-are-wrong
5. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201103/your-brain-omega-3
David, thanks for the great links!
You’re welcome, Steve.
Would you be interested in writing about the omega-6 hazard? Here are some links to information about omega-6:
http://omega-6-omega-3-balance.omegaoptimize.com/2010/07/25/case-study-30days-of-high-omega6-dietstiffens-arteries-and-increases-belly-fat.aspx
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/04/do-seed-oils-cause-multi-generational.html
http://thehealthyskeptic.org/how-too-much-omega-6-and-not-enough-omega-3-is-making-us-sick
http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2010/01/david-brown-on-omega-6-fats.html
And then there’s this:
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/unsaturatedfats.shtml
Interpreting research is tricky business. It seems like scientists sometimes observe a physiological effect and decide it’s a pathological one. And sometimes this works in reverse. For example, certain saturated fats (lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid) raise LDL. The assumption is that anything that raises LDL is bad. On the other hand, omega-6s lower total cholesterol. The assumption is that lowering cholesterol is always good. But excessive omega-6 produces an inflammatory response which causes all kinds of problems over the long term. But adding omega-3s to the diet reduces inflammation which is good. Right? But Ray Peat says that excessive amounts of both 3s and 6s accelerate aging. Someone needs to sort this out.
David, thanks for the excellent omega-6 links. I’ve found limiting omega-6 to be very helpful in my own diet. My favorite reference, “The Perfect Health Diet”, recommends keeping omega-3 and omega-6 in a roughly 1-1 balance and limiting both of them. The PUFAs are vulnerable to oxidization because all the double bonds leave the carbons between them more reactive. And the omega-6 breakdown products trigger inflammation and are therefore problematic for most chronic diseases.