Saturated Fats

[Edward Smith]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering everyone's view on Saturated Fats. Do people feel they are safe or harmful? Or is it a matter of, as George suggested, the Omega 3 to 6 ratio?

Thanks,

Ed

Please no answers like 'they're bad', please back up your answers with evidence or some of the biological process of it.

[thekyloe]

Well, for starters, saturated fats raise the cholesterol in the blood, which is pretty bad, as it increases risk of stroke, heart attacks, etc.

It's said that you should probably limit your sat. fat intake to 7-10 percent of your calories, max.

[George Launchbury]

Elevated cholesterol in the blood is invariably seen because the body is producing cholesterol to repair the damage done to your arteries by poor nutrition. It's like blaming firemen for fires - just because they're present at every fire doesn't mean they started it. The cell membranes of all animal tissue contains cholesterol. If you want to build (or re-build) cells you are going to need, amongst other things ...cholesterol. The reason there is so much of the stuff in an egg is because it requires a lot of it to build a healthy chick.

However - Elevated triglycerides in the blood (fat that is not being used because your carb intake is too high) does increase your risk of all those things.

Saturated fat is not bad for you. I read something a while back that answered the question of why Cordain doesn't advocate the eating of saturated fats, and the answer was that most people wouldn't be eating grass-fed organic free-range (or wild) meat ...they would be eating grain-fed unhappy, hormone/anti-biotic laden meat. Animals (and humans according to studies made) that have a high intake of grains have a much higher percentage of Omega6 in their stored fats. The non-grain fed animals are much higher in Omega3, and don't have all those other nasties stored in their fat either.

Saturated fat is incredibly stable for cooking, whereas almost all vegetable oils are very unstable when heated - and damaged fats increase risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke, etc. They are also neutral in the inflammation stakes - Omega6 will cause inflammation, Omega3 is anti-inflammatory, and Omega9 makes no difference. It's not the amount of Omega3 that's important, it's the ratio of 3 to 6. Therefore it makes sense to eat as much Omega3 as possible, as little Omega6 ...and make up the deficit with neutral (and tasty) saturated fats. The important fact to note here is that ALL fats should be of good quality, and undamaged.

During the millions of years we evolved to thrive on a specific diet, the majority of our energy intake did not come from extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil ...we ate animals, and therefore animal fat.

To sum up - Elevated cholesterol in the blood is not bad in itself, but is an indicator that something bad is happening. Damaged fats are bad for you in all forms. Getting your energy from high quality saturated fat is a good choice, and be sure to eat more Omega3.

Regards,

George.

P.s. You should get your Omega3 from non-vegetable sources. Flaxseed should be considered a poor alternative. Fish oil contains EPA and DHA, whereas flaxseed contains ALA, which the body has to convert to EPA/DHA (at roughly 11 grams of ALA to produce 1 gram of EPA/DHA). The body does an OK job with EPA, but really struggles with DHA, especially if your diet is higher in Omega6.

[JoeS]

However - Elevated triglycerides in the blood (fat that is not being used because your carb intake is too high) does increase your risk of all those things.

I hope you're right George. My triglycerides went down to 50 mg/dl when I started cutting back on carbs .

[George Launchbury]

I hope you're right George. My triglycerides went down to 50 mg/dl when I started cutting back on carbs .

Me too ...after all, I am in fact betting my life on it.

George.

[StevenL]

There are different kinds of saturated fat, and not all of them are bad for you. For instance, coconut - and coconut oil, despite having a good amount of saturated fat, are both superfoods and some of the best you can put in your body.

Most people think that we should avoid saturated fat like the plague. Now it's true that we shouldn't overdo saturated fat, though truth be told, we should be more worried about trans fats than about the naturally occuring saturates in butter, coconut, and eggs. For some reason, people are scared of these good foods because, oh my god, they have fat!

The human body needs fat. We can't exist without it. It's part of our bodily cells. We use it as energy. It cushions and protects organs and makes fat soluble vitamins like A and D available for our body to use. Stop worrying about it!!

[Edward Smith]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond especially George and Steven.

[StevenL]

you're very welcome. glad I could help.

[George Launchbury]

...always a pleasure!

George.

[User24]

I don't worry about that. I just avoid all trans fats. This means I read the ingredients label on everything, and anything that is "partially hydrogenated..." I do not buy. This has cut my junk food down to zero.