Not Guilty - Saturated Fats
Everybody knows" that saturated fats raise your cholesterol level and increase your risk of heart disease. Well we should know better than believe everything we are told because, as it turns out, it isn’t true!
Perhaps we should be more circumspect about data that "everybody" knows because it appears that saturated fats are not the villain they were widely assumed to be, even though they have the somewhat stigmatic word "fat" in their name.
It is quite simply a myth that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. That it has been around for decades makes it no less a myth, albeit a very persistent one.
Humans actually need saturated fats, and here’s why:
Such fats from animal and vegetable sources supply the body with a concentrated source of energy, as well as the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and similar substances needed by the body.
They play a key role in cardiovascular health and their inclusion in the diet reduces the levels of lipoprotein (a), a substance that correlates significantly with the risk levels for heart disease. Saturated fats are the preferred fuel for your heart, and are also used as a source of fuel during energy expenditure. Two saturated fats known as palmitic acid and stearic acid are useful in lowering cholesterol levels.
They are carriers for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and are also vital for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, and for the proper absorption of minerals.
When you eat saturated fats, they slow down absorption and this means you can go longer without feeling hungry. Research involving women who diet has revealed that those retaining the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat lose the most weight.
Saturated fats known as myristic acid and lauric acid are found in butter and coconut oil. They perform an important key role in the function of the immune system. For example, the loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells inhibits their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders like bacteria, fungi and viruses.
The liver can take quite a pounding from alcohol and medications (including acetaminophen and other drugs commonly used for pain and arthritis) and saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from such toxins.
It has been found that the airspaces of the lungs need a coating of a thin layer of lung surfactant if they are to function properly and the fat content of this surfactant is pure saturated fatty acids.
Your brain actually comprises mainly fat and cholesterol and most of its fatty acids are actually saturated. Therefore, a diet that eliminates saturated fats deprives your brain of the raw materials it requires for optimum function.
Saturated fat is necessary for the incorporation of calcium into the bones. Dr. Mary Enig, Ph.D., one of the foremost research experts on human health and dietary fats, has concluded that probably as much as 50 percent of the fats in your diet should be saturated fats for that reason.
Some saturated fats play a key role in proper metabolic function, including the release of insulin. These fats include those found in found in butter, coconut oil, and palm oil.
A saturated fat known as lauric acid is effective as an anti-caries, anti-plaque and anti-fungal agent.
There is some evidence that butyric acid helps prevent cancer.
Your body does need some intake of saturated fat to stay healthy and a nutritionally sound diet must include saturated fat. The fats you definitely don’t need however are the trans fats.
Trans fat, also known as "trans fatty acids," is formed when natural vegetable oils are processed into margarine or shortening and is found in many other foods, including fried foods like chips (french fries to my American readers), fried chicken, doughnuts, biscuits (cookies in America), pastries and crackers.
There are some people - about one third, the "carb nutritional types" - who thrive with a low-saturated-fat diet but even for them, however, some animal fats are necessary and healthy. Two thirds of people on the other hand actually require a moderate- to high intake of saturated-fat for optimum results.
For optimum results, it is best to consult a nutritionist to establish your nutritional type but as a general rule of thumb, make sure your diet includes some:
-Coconut oil or olive oil
-Grass-fed organic beef and beef fat
-Naturally raised lamb
-Organic raw dairy products (butter, cheese, milk, cream).
And make sure these foods are ingested in the context of an overall healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Personally I recommend an essentially Mediterranean diet boosted by the inclusion of daily supplementation of wild blue-green algae, lots of filtered water or natural spring water and green tea as the favoured beverage.
At this time in our history we humans are bedevilled by unethical corporations whose allegiance to their fellow man extends no further than those who happen to be shareholders and who are quite content to feed us (and their shareholders) rubbish and destroy our health so long as they make a buck.
Yet it is entirely within our power to make them more honest.
All it requires is a modicum of care and common sense on our part - and rewarding with our hard-earned pounds and dollars the ethical producers of wholesome food that are out there.
It is quite simply a myth that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. That it has been around for decades makes it no less a myth, albeit a very persistent one.
Humans actually need saturated fats, and here’s why:
Such fats from animal and vegetable sources supply the body with a concentrated source of energy, as well as the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and similar substances needed by the body.
They play a key role in cardiovascular health and their inclusion in the diet reduces the levels of lipoprotein (a), a substance that correlates significantly with the risk levels for heart disease. Saturated fats are the preferred fuel for your heart, and are also used as a source of fuel during energy expenditure. Two saturated fats known as palmitic acid and stearic acid are useful in lowering cholesterol levels.
They are carriers for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and are also vital for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, and for the proper absorption of minerals.
When you eat saturated fats, they slow down absorption and this means you can go longer without feeling hungry. Research involving women who diet has revealed that those retaining the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat lose the most weight.
Saturated fats known as myristic acid and lauric acid are found in butter and coconut oil. They perform an important key role in the function of the immune system. For example, the loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells inhibits their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders like bacteria, fungi and viruses.
The liver can take quite a pounding from alcohol and medications (including acetaminophen and other drugs commonly used for pain and arthritis) and saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from such toxins.
It has been found that the airspaces of the lungs need a coating of a thin layer of lung surfactant if they are to function properly and the fat content of this surfactant is pure saturated fatty acids.
Your brain actually comprises mainly fat and cholesterol and most of its fatty acids are actually saturated. Therefore, a diet that eliminates saturated fats deprives your brain of the raw materials it requires for optimum function.
Saturated fat is necessary for the incorporation of calcium into the bones. Dr. Mary Enig, Ph.D., one of the foremost research experts on human health and dietary fats, has concluded that probably as much as 50 percent of the fats in your diet should be saturated fats for that reason.
Some saturated fats play a key role in proper metabolic function, including the release of insulin. These fats include those found in found in butter, coconut oil, and palm oil.
A saturated fat known as lauric acid is effective as an anti-caries, anti-plaque and anti-fungal agent.
There is some evidence that butyric acid helps prevent cancer.
Your body does need some intake of saturated fat to stay healthy and a nutritionally sound diet must include saturated fat. The fats you definitely don’t need however are the trans fats.
Trans fat, also known as "trans fatty acids," is formed when natural vegetable oils are processed into margarine or shortening and is found in many other foods, including fried foods like chips (french fries to my American readers), fried chicken, doughnuts, biscuits (cookies in America), pastries and crackers.
There are some people - about one third, the "carb nutritional types" - who thrive with a low-saturated-fat diet but even for them, however, some animal fats are necessary and healthy. Two thirds of people on the other hand actually require a moderate- to high intake of saturated-fat for optimum results.
For optimum results, it is best to consult a nutritionist to establish your nutritional type but as a general rule of thumb, make sure your diet includes some:
-Coconut oil or olive oil
-Grass-fed organic beef and beef fat
-Naturally raised lamb
-Organic raw dairy products (butter, cheese, milk, cream).
And make sure these foods are ingested in the context of an overall healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Personally I recommend an essentially Mediterranean diet boosted by the inclusion of daily supplementation of wild blue-green algae, lots of filtered water or natural spring water and green tea as the favoured beverage.
At this time in our history we humans are bedevilled by unethical corporations whose allegiance to their fellow man extends no further than those who happen to be shareholders and who are quite content to feed us (and their shareholders) rubbish and destroy our health so long as they make a buck.
Yet it is entirely within our power to make them more honest.
All it requires is a modicum of care and common sense on our part - and rewarding with our hard-earned pounds and dollars the ethical producers of wholesome food that are out there.
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