It is good to see science catching up with what I have been learning through my natural healing studies. Carbohydrate,in the form of starches, cause more cardiovascular disease than saturated fats. Even the fats derived from grains are dangerous. We want to get our fats from coconuts, olives, and animals.
A new study from the Netherlands has aroused a great deal of interest,
especially as it comes immediately in the wake of an ill-conceived Danish tax that
unfairly targets saturated fats.
The study found that dietary intake of saturated fatty acids is associated
with a modest increase in serum total cholesterol -- but not with cardiovascular
disease.
However, replacing dietary saturated fats with carbohydrates is associated
with an increase in cardiovascular disease risk.
Let me repeat that:
Replacing saturated fats in your diet, like those from healthy grass-fed
beef, raw organic butter, and other high-quality animal foods, with
carbohydrates like bread, bagels, pasta, rice and doughnuts will
increase your risk of heart disease.
Saturated Fats Are GOOD for You
I can't stress this point enough, as I realize it may take some of you
reading this by surprise.
Unfortunately, this is the result of misguided and downright incorrect
information that has been widely circulated from public health agencies, as well
as further "cemented" in people's minds with the introduction of saturated fat
replacements like trans fats and vegetable oil, which are far worse for
your health.
Consider this: most would agree that human breast milk is likely the ideal
human food for infants and their developing bodies. Breast milk contains 54
percent saturated fat. This is not a mistake; it's there in such high quantities
because it plays a crucial role in your body's development and day-to-day
functioning, even as an adult. In fact, your body cannot function
without saturated fats! Saturated fats are needed for the proper function of
your:
| Cell membranes |
Heart |
Bones (to assimilate calcium) |
| Liver |
Lungs |
Hormones |
| Immune system |
Satiety (reducing hunger) |
Genetic regulation |
As this latest study shows, you eliminate saturated fats from your diet at
your own peril, as doing so will actually increase, not decrease, your
risk of heart disease, particularly if you replace them with carbohydrates,
which are the true dietary villain you need to be
avoiding.
The Truth About Saturated Fats and Heart Disease
Do you long for a meal of a butter-drenched, rare steak but pass it up
because you equate it with a "heart attack on a plate"? Well, I have good news
for you, and that is you can enjoy a rare-cooked, butter-drenched steak
without guilt, assuming it is grass-fed steak and raw organic
butter -- it's good for you!
Heart disease is so common today, it's hard for people to remember that a
mere 100 years ago this disease was really uncommon. Today, a number of
indigenous tribes around the world are living proof that a high-saturated-fat
diet equates to low mortality from heart disease. These
include:
| Tribe |
Primary Diet |
Percentage Saturated Fat |
| Maasai tribe in Kenya/Tanzania |
Meat, milk, cattle blood |
66 percent |
| Inuit Eskimos in the Arctic |
Whale meat and blubber |
75 percent |
| Rendille tribe in NE Kenya |
Camel milk, meat, blood |
63 percent |
| Tokealu, atoll islands in New Zealand territory |
Fish and coconuts |
60 percent |
So why, then, does the most recent food chart issued by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) in December of 2010 recommend reducing your saturated fat
intake to a mere 7 percent of caloric intake -- down from its previously
recommended 10 percent?
The demonization of saturated
fat began in 1953, when Dr. Ancel Keys published a paper comparing saturated
fat intake and heart disease mortality. His theory turned out to be flimsy, to
say the least, but the misguided ousting of saturated fat has continued unabated
ever since.
Keys based his theory on a study of seven countries, in which higher
saturated fat intake equated to higher rates of heart disease. However, he
conveniently ignored data from 16 other countries that did not fit his
theory. Had he chosen a different set of countries, the data would have shown
that increasing the percent of calories from fat reduces the number of deaths
from coronary heart disease.
When you include all 22 countries for which data was available at the time of
his study, you find that those who consume the highest percentage of saturated
fat have the lowest risk of heart disease.
The nutrition community of that time completely accepted Keys' hypothesis,
and encouraged the public to cut out butter, red meat, animal fats, eggs, dairy
and other "artery clogging" fats from their diets -- a radical change at that
time that is still very much in force today. Most of the experts I know believe
that Dr. Keys' research was pivotal for perpetuating the flawed low-fat approach
to health. This is a major part of the solid science you will need to know if
anyone seeks to disagree with you when you share this information; this study is
really the foundation that triggered the massive emphasis on low-fat diets and
the flawed belief that cholesterol and animal fats are so
pernicious.
The Latest Research Proves Saturated Fats are Not Your Enemy
Fortunately, the truth is finally starting to come out, as medical scientists
have begun to seriously question Keys' findings. Research is now pouring in that
the conventional dogma demonizing saturated fats is simply wrong:
When you replace saturated fat with a higher carbohydrate intake, particularly
refined carbohydrate, you exacerbate insulin resistance and obesity, increase
triglycerides and small LDL particles, and reduce beneficial HDL cholesterol.
The authors state that dietary efforts to improve your cardiovascular
disease risk should primarily emphasize the
limitation of refined
carbohydrate intake, and weight reduction.
Several other key studies used to support the demonization of saturated fats
have also been debunked in recent years, even though the media has not been
picking up on this. For instance, take
the Framingham Heart Study,
which is often cited as proof of the lipid hypothesis (the idea that saturated
fat causes high cholesterol and heart disease). This study began in 1948 and
involved some 6,000 people from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts who filled
out detailed questionnaires about their lifestyle habits and diets. The study is
credited with identifying heart disease risk factors, such as smoking, high
blood pressure, lack of exercise and high cholesterol.
The cholesterol link was weak, as researchers noted those who weighed more
and had abnormally high blood cholesterol levels were slightly more at risk for
future heart disease, but widely publicized. What you don't hear about
is the fact that the more cholesterol and saturated fat people ate, the
lower their cholesterol levels.
In a 1992 editorial published in the
Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. William Castelli, a former
director of the Framingham Heart study, stated:
"In Framingham, Mass., the more saturated fat one ate, the more
cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum
cholesterol. The opposite of what… Keys et al would predict…We found that the
people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most
calories, weighed the least and were the most physically
active."
Other studies often used to justify a low-fat diet, including The U.S. Multiple Risk Factor
Intervention Trial (MRFIT) and the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary
Primary Prevention Trial (LRC-CPPT), are also misleading examples that used
omissions of key data and statistical lies to "prove" their points. You can read the full details of these
flawed studies here.
Carbs are the Real Public Health Enemy: Top Two Dietary Truths Revealed
It's frustrating, to say the least, that the U.S. dietary guidelines have
long advised Americans to fill their plates with grains while limiting saturated
fats, as this is the opposite of what most people need to stay healthy.
Most studies that have linked the so-called "Western diet" to an increased
heart disease risk simply confirm that sugar and refined carbohydrates are
harmful to your heart health. Because although the Western diet is high in red
and processed meats and saturated fats, it's also alarmingly high in sugar and
refined carbs like bread and pasta. And, as concluded in the latest study,
when you reduce saturated fat and increase refined carbohydrates, you end up
promoting heart disease, not to mention obesity and diabetes.
Gary Taubes has done an excellent job of explaining the connection between
carbs and obesity and its related health issues in his book Why We Get Fat: and What to do
About It. I believe there are two primary dietary recommendations that could
make all the difference in the world for most people, leading to a swift
reversal in the horrific disease trends we're currently facing:
- Severely restrict carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, and grains) in your diet
- Increase healthy fat consumption (saturated fats, omega-3 fats,
monounsaturated fats)
I recently wrote about this recommendation in-depth, so for more details
please see This Substance Fools Your
Metabolism - and Tricks Your Body into Gaining Pounds. If you want to shed
excess pounds and maintain a healthy weight long-term, and RADICALLY reduce (and
in many cases virtually eliminate) your risk of diabetes, heart disease and
cancer, then get serious about restricting your consumption of fructose
to no more than 25 grams per day, with a maximum of 15 grams a
day from fresh fruit.
If you're already overweight, or have any of these diseases or are at high
risk of any of them, then you're probably better off cutting that down to 10-15
grams per day, fruit included.
In a nutshell, eating saturated fats will not increase your risk of heart
disease … but excess carbohydrates will.
mercola.com
