Saturated Fat

If I had a nickel for every time I had to explain to someone that saturated fat isn’t bad I’d have enough nickels to pay for my next trip. Let me repeat this. Saturated fat does not cause heart disease. 

Saturated fat does increase your cholesterol. Recall when we discussed cholesterol? And how you NEED cholesterol? Saturated fat increases both HDL and LDL cholesterol. HDL is the “healthy” one because it picks up cholesterol from our bodies and returns it to the liver to be recycled. LDL is traditionally considered the “unhealthy” kind but remember, there is more than one size LDL particle and it is the small, dense LDL that can beat up our arteries, not the large LDL. 

This article describes a study which demonstrated that while consumption of saturated fat increases LDL it increases the large LDL, not the ones that contribute to heart disease. It was a small study, but it’s only one drop in the bucket of information that says the same damn thing. This review of research suggests that lowering fat intake and replacing it with carbohydrates is only going to make us fatter and sicker. So guess what….

It’s okay to eat saturated fat.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! This study followed over 1,500 men and showed that over a 12 year period of time intake of high fat dairy products (butter, milk, and whipping cream) were associated with a lower risk of central obesity when compared to low fat dairy products. So you’re skinnier and your food tastes better. Rock. On. 

Now, if you don’t want to listen to me even Dr. Oz is jumping on the bandwagon- Check out the video here.

Although I did find it funny that he called this a “new study” when the truth is this research has been around for decades but mainstream media is just beginning to catch on. 

Anyway, fat is okay when it comes from pasture raised meats, wild caught fish, organic whole milk and milk products, produce like avocados and nuts, and cold-pressed oils. Am I telling you to eat a pound of pastured bacon everyday? No, but what I am saying is you don’t need to feel guilty for eating some saturated fat. If your diet has a lot of variety and half of your plate is vegetables I say go right ahead and have a steak with your meal. Want butter and garlic on your broccoli? Butter it up, bro. Butter and garlic is the yellow brick road to world peace if you ask me.

What you need to ensure is that your sources of saturated fat you are consuming are from natural foods. Many toxins are stored in fat so when you eat fat from a crappy source you get all the toxins with it. Guess what? There are a lot of toxins on a farm, thanks DDT. 

Eat something that grew out of the ground or was raised naturally, not something that was raised in a factory. 

Xo
Pearl