Jeff's Thoughts

• Saturated Fats – A Misunderstood Good Guy

  29 July, 2011

  Saturated Fats

  Saturated fats come from animal sources, and have been in amongst the controversy with research linking saturated fats to cholesterol and heart disease. (Note that research pre 1950 did not separate trans fats and saturated fats, they were all clumped to together in the same results). This controversy has seen has us avoid eggs due to the saturated fat levels in the yolk. Could such a natural product that has been around for so many thousands of years be contributing towards heart disease?

  There was a study done in 1984 by the Lipid Research Clinic (LRC). This study was looking at cholesterol lowering drugs and the incidence of heart attacks. This study did show a link from cholesterol lowering drugs on the incidence of heart attacks. Unfortunately the assumption was made by the researchers that because the drugs worked, it justified promoting a diet low in cholesterol, then that would have the same effect as a cholesterol lowering drug

  “So , on a basis of a study looking at drugs lowering cholesterol among men with high cholesterol levels, we ended up with a message to eat less saturated fat. Have I missed something here?”

  Big Fat Lies, Sutter, 2010.

  Since this study their has been 26 studies trying to show a link between saturated fats and heart disease, only 4 showed any association and these were epidemiological in nature.

  “To date there have only been two relevant double-blind studies and neither showed a connection between saturated fats and heart disease”.

  Big Fat Lies, Sutter, 2010.

  So eggs don’t do not cause heart disease (this has been shown in an independent research study done by the egg association in the United States), nor does any saturated fat. Just poor assumptions made on questionable research.

  In 1953 Ancel Keys published a pivotal paper in his legacy to prove a correlation between dietary fat and heart disease. Keys chose 6 studies to collect his data from (this became known as the 6 nations study) and the below graph clearly shows this link between those countries that consume high fat diets and have highs rates of heart disease…..or do they?

  

  The problem is that before looking at the data, Ancel Keys already had an opinion on the data and had his reputation was riding on the outcome. Ancel Keys had over 20 countries to choose his data from but only chose 6. This is simply because these six helped to prove his already established believe. If you actually look at all the data (below) you would be hard pressed to make the same correlation.

  Gary Taubes in his book “Good Calories, Bad Calories” summed it up by saying

  “if we believe we know the cause before we observe the effect, we will almost assuredly see what we want to see, which is not the same as seeing things clearly”

  

  The second graph shows all the data that was available (This was never shown by Ancel Keys for obvious reasons), but Yerushalmy and Hilleboe in 1957 produced this to show what Ancel Keys was saying was simply not true. Their rebuttal did not get the same attention unfortunately as the well respected Keys.

  However the study was enough to get Keys on the cover of Time Magazine. The simple fact is the links between eating saturated fats and its correlation to heart disease are not true.

  “There is virtually no history of heart disease among the Inuit tribes who live off saturated fats with little or no fresh vegetables, and this example does not stand alone. Many hunter-gatherer tribes have diets  rich in saturated fats and yet have no history of heart disease”.

  Big Fat Lies, Sutter, 2010.

  “If, as we have been told, heart disease results from the consumption of saturated fats, one would expect to find a corresponding increase in animal fat in the American diet. Actually, the reverse is true. During the sixty-year period from 1910 to 1970, the proportion of traditional animal fat in the American diet declined from 83% to 62%, and butter consumption plummeted from eighteen pounds per person per year to four. During the past eighty years, dietary cholesterol intake has increased only 1%. During the same period the percentage of dietary vegetable oils in the form of margarine, shortening and refined oils increased about 400% while the consumption of sugar and processed foods increased about 60%”.

  The Truth About Saturated Fats – Mary Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon

  The benefits of saturated fats

  Saturated fats play many crucial roles in the body, and may not be the things that we should be looking to avoid

  Saturated fat is a key component of a group of substances called phospholipids, which are critical to building cell walls. Saturated fat plays a crucial role in the integrity of our cells.

  Big Fat Lies, Sutter, 2010.

  They play a vital role in the health of our bones. For calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50% of the dietary fats should be saturated.

  They lower Lp(a), a substance in the blood that indicates proneness to heart disease.

  They protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins, such as Tylenol.

  They enhance the immune system.

  They are needed for the proper utilization of essential fatty acids.  Elongated omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats.

  Saturated 18-carbon stearic acid and 16-carbon palmitic acid are the preferred foods for the heart, which is why the fat around the heart muscle is highly saturated.

  The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of stress.

  Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have important antimicrobial properties. They protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract.

   

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