Yes, the 60 year old nutritional myth that saturated fats are bad for us and cause heart disease, has now been officially accepted as incorrect.
Despite years of evidence to the contrary, nearly all health experts plus the daily media were still telling us that saturated fats were dangerous. Yet there was plainly no evidence for such claims and plenty of evidence that saturated fats are in fact essential for our health. I cover this topic in detail in my Stay Healthy Book.
Giant Meta-Study result in doctor’s magazine reveals the truth
Finally a steady stream of new studies and books over recent years has finally led to the truth being officially recognised in a giant Meta-Study (a study of numerous other studies) published in the “Annals of Internal Medicine” – the leading American medical journal for doctors. The study reported that people who consume higher amounts of saturated fat have no more heart disease than those who consume less. (Nor did they find less heart disease in those consuming higher amounts of polyunsaturated fat.) This is only to be expected – saturated animal fats found in meat, dairy, eggs and nuts have been healthy human staples for thousands of years.
Cardiologist never saw a heart attack until 1928
Dr Dudley White, a cardiologist writes, "I began my practice as a cardiologist in 1921 and I never saw an MI (heart attack) patient until 1928. Back in the MI-free days before 1920, the fats were butter and lard, and I think that we would all benefit from the kind of diet that we had at a time when no one had ever heard the words corn oil."
Nutrition Week, 22 March 1991 reported “Margarine eaters have twice the rate of heart disease as butter eaters.”
101 year old doctor – warning since 1957
Dr. Fred Kummerow who has a doctorate in biochemistry and has studied fats and heart disease for over 60 years, warned about the importance of saturated fats back in 1957 when animal fats first began being blamed for heart disease. He never believed the theory or that cholesterol was the cause of heart disease.
Mistaken theory has serious consequences
A serious effect of this wrong theory has been the needless early deaths that could have been prevented. This was graphically illustrated by a French study of 605 patients who had survived heart attacks. One half of these were put on the standard American Heart Association diet of polyunsaturated fats and high-carbs. The other half were put on a standard Mediterranean diet (of Crete) with no restriction on saturated fat and ample fruit and vegetables. After two years the experiment was terminated and all patients put on the Mediterranean diet. Why? – because 24 of those following the Heart Association diet had died, compared to only 3 on the Mediterranean diet.
In a similar Sydney 'Diet Heart Study', 220 men aged 30-59 adopted a ‘heart-healthy’ diet by reducing their saturated fat intake and increasing their polyunsaturated fat intake. The men were supplied with vegetable oils and margarine. A similar number of men acted as controls. Result – the death risk from cardiovascular disease increased 70% among the men eating the ‘heart-healthy’ diet.
Humble heart surgeon admits the theory is a ‘terrible mistake’
Dr Dwight Lundell a heart surgeon with 25 years experience writes: “We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego, that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.”
“Animal fats contain less than 20% Omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the ‘science’ that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.”
“The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favour of foods high in Omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.”
Health benefits of saturated animal fat
Helps absorb minerals, especially calcium
Needed by our body to absorb vitamins A, E, D, K1 and K2
Required for the manufacture of sex hormones and digestive enzymes
Acts as a long-lasting energy food
Helps the liver make cholesterol for cell building and repair
Helps strengthen the immune system
Assists the body to better utilise Omega 3 fats
Provides satiety (feeling full)
Optimal fuel for your brain
Helps the body convert carotene into vitamin A
Helps prevent cancer
FATS AND OIL
Eat these fats
Coconut
Butter
Lamb fat
Cream
Full fat dairy
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Avocado oil
Nuts
Flaxseed oil
Don't eat these fats
Margarine
Canola oil
Corn oil
Vegetable oil
Safflower oil
Soybean oil
Any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils