Studies from the medical research show a different reality compared to what marketing, media, and medicine say about consuming fat.
This paper is to show the truth about fat. A claim is made followed by the research(es) to back it up.
1. Healthy fats are essential for life and a healthy body!
Functional Roles of Fatty Acids and Their Effects on Human Health. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2015 Sep;39(1 Suppl):18S-32S.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26177664
“A variety of fatty acids exists in the diet of humans, in the bloodstream of humans, and in cells and tissues of humans. Fatty acids are energy sources and membrane constituents. They have biological activities that act to influence cell and tissue metabolism, function, and responsiveness to hormonal and other signals. The biological activities may be grouped as regulation of membrane structure and function; regulation of intracellular signaling pathways, transcription factor activity, and gene expression; and regulation of the production of bioactive lipid mediators.”
You may have heard that trans fats are bad but there is a difference between natural and man-made Trans fats.
2. Natural Trans fats are not harmful; they are beneficial.
A) Study of the effect of trans fat from ruminants on blood lipids and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):593-9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326596
In studies, researchers use the term “ruminant Trans Fatty Acids” (rTFA) instead of “natural” and they say “industrial Trans Fatty Acids” (iTFA) instead of “man-made”.
“…moderate intakes of rTFA that are well above the upper limit of current human consumption have neutral effects on plasma lipids and other cardiovascular disease risk factors.”
B) Natural Rumen-Derived trans Fatty Acids Are Associated with Metabolic Markers of Cardiac Health.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26210489
“These data suggest that rTFA may have beneficial effects on cardiometabolic risk factors conversely to their counterpart iTFA.”
3. Man-made trans fats (aka industrial Trans fats) are unhealthy.
A) Study of the effect of trans fat from ruminants on blood lipids and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):593-9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326596
“The intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) from industrially hydrogenated vegetable oils (iTFA) is known to have a deleterious effect on cardiovascular health…”
B) Do trans fatty acids from industrially produced sources and from natural sources have the same effect on cardiovascular disease risk factors in healthy subjects? Results of the Trans Fatty Acids Collaboration (TRANSFACT) study.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):558-66
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326592
“The HDL cholesterol-lowering property of TFAs seems to be specific to industrial sources.”
C) Overview of trans fatty acids: biochemistry and health effects.
Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2011 Jul-Se:5(3): 161-4
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22813572
“Industrial TFA poses severe effects on our health like cardiovascular problems, insulin resistance, infertility in women, compromised fetal development and cognitive decline.”
4. Now you know there is a difference between natural fats and man-made fats. Unfortunately, many studies do not separate natural fats from man-made fats which leads readers and reporters to think ALL fats are bad or ALL saturated fats are bad. 5 Examples:
A) Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1425-32
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19211817
B) Dietary fat intake and risk of coronary heart disease: the Strong Heart Study.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Oct;84(4):894-902.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17023718
C) Dietary Fat and Coronary Heart Disease: Summary of Evidence from Prospective Cohort and Randomised Controlled Trials.
Ann Nutr Metab 209;55:173-201
http://www.nmsociety.org/docs/aboutfat/Skeaff-Dietary-Fat-and-Coronary-Heart-Disease.pdf
D) Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
The study below combined margarine into the meat category and does not differentiate between industrially raised/grain fed meat versus organically raised meat.
E) Food intake patterns and 25-year mortality from coronary heart disease: cross-cultural correlations in the Seven Countries Study. The Seven Countries Study Research Group.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10485342
5) When the man-made fats and the natural fats are separated, it is seen that there is a difference. Natural fats are ok whereas man-made fats are detrimental.
A) Consumption of industrial and ruminant trans fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease: a systemic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jul; 659&):773-83 PMID: 2147742 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21427742
“In conclusion, our analysis suggests that industrial-TFA may be positively related to CHD, whereas ruminant-TFA is not…”
6) Some studies show saturated fat does not cause disease even when they don’t separate out the harmful man-made fats.
A) Intake of saturated and trans unsaturated fatty acids and risk of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26268692
“Saturated fats are not associated with all cause mortality, CVD, CHD, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes…”
B) Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fats with cardiovascular disease.
Am J clin Nutr. 2010 Mar; 91(3): 535-546 PMID:20071648 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC28241252
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Am+J+clin+Nutr.+2010+Mar%3B+91(3)%3A+535-546
“A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.”
7) Consuming more vegetable oils and less animal fats is not supported by the research.
Association of Dietary, Circulating and Supplemental Fatty Acids with Coronary Risk: Review and Meta-Analysis Annals of Internal Medicine 2014 correction (of above article):
http://annals.org/article.aspxarticleid=1846638&utm_content=bufferf0af7&utm_medium=social&utm_
source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer
“Current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.”
Don’t be afraid to eat healthy fat! You’re probably not eating enough.
8) Women need higher cholesterol than what current guidelines say.
A) Is the use of cholesterol in mortality risk algorithms in clinical guidelines valid? Ten years prospective data from the Norwegian HUNT 2 study.
J Eval Clin Pract.2012 Feb;18(1):159-68
http://www.ncbi.lm.nih.gov/pubmed/19211817
“If our findings are generalizable, clinical and public health recommendations regarding the ‘dangers’ of cholesterol should be revised. This is especially true for women, for whom moderately elevated cholesterol (by current standards) may prove to be not only harmless but even beneficial.”
9) Eating healthy fat helps get you off addictive sugar.
A) Long-term, calorie-restricted intake of a high-fat diet in rats reduces impulse control and ventral striatal D2 receptor signaling: two markers of addiction vulnerability.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26527415
“These data indicate that chronic exposure to even limited amounts of high-fat foods may weaken impulse control and alter neural signaling in a manner associated with vulnerability to addictions…”
10) Eating healthy fat keeps your appetite under control. You can go longer between meals and eat less!
A) Do ketogenic diets really suppress appetite? A systematic review and meta-analysis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25402637. KLCD means Ketogenic Low Carbohydrate Diet.
“…individuals adhering to KLCD were less hungry and had a reduced desire to eat. Although these absolute changes in appetite were small, they occurred within the context of energy restriction…”
11) Cacao butter has lots of phytosterols which has been shown to reduce unhealthy LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
Phytosterols, Phytostanols, and Lipoprotein Metabolism.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26393644
“Phytosterols and phytostanols lower LDL cholesterol”. “…phytosterols and phytostanols have modestly reduced serum triglyceride levels”.
12) Consuming saturated fat is healthy.
A) http://freetheanimal.com/2009/09/saturated-fat-intake-vs-heart-disease-stroke.html
“So, more saturated fat, better, more carbohydrate, worse, and protein is not associated.” This immense numbers-crunching study shows the ideal cholesterol number is 200-240 md/dl.
B) 7 Reasons to eat more saturated fat.
C) Other resources to consider for learning the health benefits of saturated fat and cholesterol include these search terms online: ketogenic, protein power, Gary Taubes, and Weston A. Price.
Most of the good dietary research was done from the 1920’s until the early 1960’s. For the sake of pride and profit, the big pharmaceutical and big food companies have changed the culture of diet research to what meets their needs and not yours.
Unfortunately, most of the time, funding for medical research only goes to studies that test the current “fat is bad” hypothesis, ignoring the incredible negative effects of grains and sugars which is the main cause of heart disease and overweight/obesity.
13) Here is a study saying sugar is more important in disease than fats. If you want to reduce obesity, overweight, diabetes, and heart disease, it is vital to remove sugar and deuce carbohydrates rather than avoiding fat.
A) The Evidence for Saturated Fat and for Sugar Related to Coronary Heart Disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26586275
“This paper reviews the evidence linking saturated fats and sugars to CHD, and concludes that the latter is more of a problem than the former. Dietary guidelines should shift focus away from reducing saturated fat, and from replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates, specifically when these carbohydrates are refined. To reduce the burden of CHD, guidelines should focus particularly on reducing intake of concentrated sugars, specifically the fructose-containing sugars like sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup in the form of ultra-processed foods and beverages.”
