Saturated Fat vs Unsaturated Fat.

By ThenThere'sTheTruth.

Whether your goal is for weight loss or just to eat healthier. Saturated fats can actually be beneficial for you, despite the common belief that they are not healthy. Just to be clear I am talking about the natural type of saturated fat found in plant and animal foods (not artificial trans fats in processed food). Personally, I am pretty firm on the belief that artificial anything isn't good when it comes to the food we put in our bodies. And this has been partly inspired due to the fact that I despised the oil section in the supermarket. I have spent a lot of time there in the past not having a clue which oil was which.

(Disclaimer: Some of these links may be affiliate links meaning if you purchase somewhere, I may receive a small commission. I don't link to things I wouldn't want myself).

So having said that lets kick off with a few facts.

FACT : Most studies are designed and manipulated to support a specific outcome to sell a product to people.

FACT: There is actually no reliable study of Natural fats being bad for you.

(See here for studies)

FACT: Your body processes artificial trans fats different to natural saturated fats.

The 3 most common types of Saturated fat are Stearic acid, Palmitic acid, and Lauric acid.

Stearic acid is found in animal fat and cocoa in high levels.

Research shows that stearic acid has no negative impacts on heart disease risks.

Palmitic acid is the other main component of saturated fat and has also been shown to increase HDL (good) cholesterol to the same, if not greater extent than LDL (bad) cholesterol, thereby making it either neutral or beneficial, but certainly not bad for you.

Lauric acid is beneficial by Increasing your HDL cholesterol levels and has been shown to have powerful immune-boosting effects. Tropical oils such as coconut and palm are the best sources of the healthy saturated fat - lauric acid .

Saturated Fat And Heart Disease.

Since researchers have failed to prove saturated fat is the cause of heart disease lets look at some of the actual causes of heart disease.

1. Trans fats (artificially hydrogenated oils)

Heavily refined vegetable oils such as soy, cottonseed, corn oil, etc. (inflammatory inside the body, and typically throw the omega-6/omega-3 balance out. Why would there be such an emphasis on using canola oils and the like? One has to consider the big players in the cooking oil industry, which has taken over for cooking oils that used to be mostly animal fats and tropical oils.

Learn more about unhealthy oils

2.Too much refined sugar - natural sugars that are processed to extract the sugar.

3.Too much refined carbohydrates such as bread, cereals, pasta, etc. more information on this especially in regards to weight loss see here.

4.Stress.

5.Lack of exercise.

Prevention of heart disease

Researchers have discovered that a unique vitamin called vitamin K2 is strongly associated in helping you to help protect yourself from heart disease. What is Vitamin K2 i hear you ask, well one of the best sources of vitamin K2 is fat from dairy!

Saturated fat is a neutral substance in your body, and even beneficial at times.

Fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in the diet; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances. Fats as part of a meal slow down absorption so that we can go longer without feeling hungry.

A few interesting things..

A Medical Research Council survey showed that men eating butter ran half the risk of developing heart disease as those using margarine. The margarines or tub spreads, while lower in hydrogenated fats, are still produced from rancid vegetable oils and contain many additives. Margarine provokes chronic high levels of cholesterol and is linked to both heart disease and cancer.

A recent study linked low fat diets with failure to thrive in children.

The French diet is loaded with saturated fats in the form of butter, eggs, cheese, cream, liver, meats and rich patés. the French have a lower rate of coronary heart disease than other western countries.

Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50% of the cell membranes. They are what gives our cells necessary stiffness and integrity and play a vital role in the health of our bones.

For calcium to be effectively incorporated at least 50% of the dietary fats should be saturate. They enhance the immune system.

They are needed for the utilization of essential fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats.

The scientific evidence,does not support "artery-clogging" saturated fats cause heart disease. Evaluation of the fat in artery clogs reveals 26% is saturated. The rest is unsaturated, of which more than half is polyunsaturated. (artificial)

The cause of heart disease is not animal fats and cholesterol but a number of factors including excess consumption of:

Vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats,

Refined carbohydrates in the form of sugar and white flour.

Mineral and vitamin deficiencies..

Our choice of fats and oils is important. Most people, especially infants and growing children, benefit from more fat in the diet rather than less.

So in summary whether you're shooting for weight loss or just looking to learn about taking care of our bodies with the food we eat, we can do well to avoid processed foods and use traditional vegetable oils like extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil for baking and animal fats for occasional frying. Eating egg yolks and other animal fats with the proteins to which they are attached and use good quality butter. (Organic grass-fed butter if you can get it). The good news for me is that my days of standing in the shops oil section for long periods of time are now over!

Happier Easier Shopping Days!

ThenTheresTheTruth