For years now people bought into the lies that the media, AMA, and doctors have told concerning fats. Fat phobia is the result. But many have caught on and realized the need for fats in a healthy diet. Omaga-3 and other mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats are necessary, but many are still avoiding saturated fats. These fats are needed for cell membranes, production of hormones, and hormone function.
So what is saturated fat? Well, that is not an easy question since the saturated type is not just one simple fat; it is eight different fatty chains each with a different length. Take Palmitic acid—the most common saturated fat found in plants and animals and microorganisms. As a stem-fatty acid, Palmitic acid is used in the human body to make other fatty acids. Palmitic acid is also a surfactant protecting human lungs. Out of the eight saturated fats, only three raise LDL; the other five lower LDL.
Where did this idea come from that saturated fats are bad? Thank Ancel Keys in the late 1950s for that. His research, and any research that disagreed with his, was dismissed. However, more and more information is coming out that saturated fat is healthy. This is not to say that people need to go out and eat globs of saturated fat though.
Is the link between saturated fat and heart disease? The problem comes when one eats refined sugar and saturated fats together. The rise in rates of heart disease is evident with the increased consumption of refined sugars. There are multiple cases displaying that saturated fats are helpful. One example is Stearic acid; this is the major component in animals, and it is shown to lower LDL and raise HDL. Refined sugar increases body fat and gives immediate energy. That’s about it. There is also glucose signaling, which speeds up the aging of cells.
Saturated fat becomes a big problem when it is oxidized. The oxidation happens during the consumption of refined sugars. Take cheesecake as an example, something so many love, but it is the combination of the sugars and the saturated fats that make this the bad choice.
“Saturated fats have become the fall guy for huge profits generated for five decades by the really big oil companies: those that make vegetable oil”. (Cereal killer)
