FACING THE FACTS
ABOUT SATURATED FATS,
HEART DISEASE, AND CANCER
Stephen Byrnes, ND, RNCP
Published in Health Naturally (Canada); Explore! (USA), at various times.
(Another article NOT by me. All references appear at the bottom of the text. Just a little proof for you that I'm not the only person in the world who believes that saturated fats are good, polyunsaturated fats are bad, processed oils and sugar-loaded processed foods are POISON: )
Current dietary wisdom tells us to avoid fat, especially saturated fat, for
it is believed that fat consumption contributes to cardiovascular disease
and arteriosclerosis, as well as a host of other degenerative diseases, most
notably obesity and cancer. Animal fats have taken the most beating in the
last few decades with butter being virtually exiled from the North American
diet. Low, or non-fat, foods such as skim milk, fat-free yogurt, and the
more recent fatless snack foods made with Olestra have been the rage for
some time now. With the advent of the saturated fat scare, palm and coconut
oil, formerly widely used in baked goods, have been replaced with various
vegetable oils. Like butter, coconut oil has been banished to the
nutritional "junk pile," and so-called "dietetics experts" assured us that
polyunsaturated vegetable oils (e.g., corn, safflower, sunflower,
cottonseed, etc) were more "heart healthy" and could provide us with all of
our nutritional requirements for fatty acids. As we all know, margarine
widely replaced butter in the past decades; a result of establishment
nutritional advice.
It appears, however, that the "experts" have steered us wrong. In a ghastly
display of arrogance, people have presumed to be able to "outdo" Mother
Nature in the food department. Despite the fact that butter, whole milk
products, coconut oil, and animal fats have nourished human beings for
several thousands of years, these healthy foods have been relegated and
replaced by new-fangled concoctions of very questionable nutritional value.
How did such an unusual state of affairs come about? Are saturated fats
really harmful? Do they cause heart disease and cancer? Are there any health
benefits in saturated fats? Read on. The answers might surprise you.
WHAT PEOPLE REALLY EAT
Those familiar with native diets around the world know that saturated fat
forms an essential and vital part of many diets. The Masai, and related
tribes in East Africa, consume a diet almost completely composed of beef,
milk, and blood. At some parts of the year, a typical Masai warrior will
consume up to 10 quarts of whole, raw cow's milk a day. The Masai are noted
for their tall stature and great endurance. Heart disease, obesity,
diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer are unknown to the Masai.
The Eskimos are another good example of a people who have historically
thrived off of a diet largely composed of animal products, including huge
amounts of blubber (fat) from various marine animals. Given the climate they
live in, Eskimos are not frequent consumers of either grains, fruits, or
vegetables. Eskimos who have not abandoned their native diet have virtually
no incidence of heart disease, cancer, arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, or
diabetes. Some studies have appeared in recent years attempting to show that
Eskimos suffer from bone loss due to their high protein diets, but such
studies have been discredited: researchers noted that only those Eskimos who
abandoned their native diet for "civilized" food and alcohol suffered from
calcium loss.
More examples could be adduced to prove that saturated fat consumption,
even when very high, is not implicated in heart disease or cancer, but these
few should suffice. Despite this, the prevailing dietary opinion is that
saturated fat is bad and should be avoided. How did such an odd idea come
about?
THE KEY TO THE ISSUE
Was a researcher named Ancel Keys. Keys proposed in the late 1950's that
there was a direct relationship between the amount of saturated fat in the
diet and the incidence of coronary heart disease and certain cancers. Though
not many are aware of it, numerous subsequent studies seriously questioned
Keys' data and conclusions. Nevertheless, Keys' articles received far more
publicity than the studies that contradicted him. The vegetable oil and food
processing industries, the main beneficiaries of Keys' theories, began
promoting and funding research designed to support those theories.
This research shows, supposedly, that saturated fat consumption is strongly
correlated with some cancers and heart disease. Unfortunately, these studies
did not take into account two things in the diets of their subjects:
hydrogenated fat and refined sugar consumption. As we shall shortly see, it
is these things which are the real culprits of our society's current health
problems.
THE REAL VILLAINS
In nature, sugars occur in foods rich in other nutrients essential to life.
Some of the sweetest foods, for example corn and beets, have high amounts of
B complex vitamins, chromium, and manganese, all nutrients essential for
glucose metabolism. But when the sugars in these healthy foods are removed
by refining, they now exist apart from their nutrients. When the body
confronts this skeletonized sugar in the digestive tract and bloodstream, it
must now get together the necessary nutrients to deal with it. In short,
consuming refined sugars taps the body's nutrient reserves.
Before the 20th century, refined sugar consumption was very low. In 1821,
for example, the average North American consumed 10 pounds of sugar a year.
Today, it is up to 170 pounds and climbing. Not surprisingly, rates of
cancer, diabetes, dental caries, candidiasis, attention deficit disorder,
arteriosclerosis, kidney and liver disease, tumors (tumors are enormous
sugar absorbers), and osteoporosis have exploded in the last few decades.
With regards to cardiovascular disease, excess sugars are quickly converted
by the liver into substances called triglycerides. Elevated blood
triglycerides have been positively correlated with proneness to heart
disease. One must realize that the liver will convert ANY excess simple
sugar into triglycerides, even fructose from fruit. Fruit and fruit juice
consumption, therefore, should be moderate. Again, we can use native diets
as our guide. As a rule, native diets are low in sugar, even natural ones
like fruit, honey, and maple syrup. These natural sugars are healthful in
measured amounts, but refined, processed sugar needs to be avoided like the
plague.
Refined vegetable oils, including margarine, are not healthy for a variety
of reasons. Margarine is rich in harmful trans-fatty acids, a "phony" fat
that inhibits your cells' ability to utilize essential fatty acids. This
causes a host of undesirable side effects such as sexual dysfunction,
cancer, and paralysis of the immune system. Consumption of margarine and
vegetable shortening is associated with several diseases, including
arteriosclerosis and cancer.
Refined vegetable oils are usually made rancid by processing and rancid
oils breed one thing: free radical damage of your blood vessels and body
cells leading to arteriosclerosis and cancer, among other diseases. Most
people think that saturated fat clogs arteries, but studies have shown that
the fatty acids in artery clogs are about 75% unsaturated of which about 40%
are polyunsaturated!
SOME HEALTHY SATURATED FATS
Butter: Butter truly is better. Besides being an excellent source of
fat-soluble vitamins, butter is rich in lecithin (needed for fat
metabolism), trace minerals (particularly selenium), arachidonic acid
(needed for prostaglandin production), and short and medium chain fatty
acids that the body uses for energy. Butter also contains butyric and lauric
acids, both antitumorigenic, antifungal, and antimicrobial substances.
Studies have shown that vitamins and minerals from vegetables are better
absorbed when eaten with butter. Butter also provides the intestines with
the fatty material needed to convert carotenes from plants into vitamin A so
be sure to butter your vegetables, yams, and winter squashes.
Stearic Acid: Mostly found in lamb and beef tallow, stearic acid is THE
preferred fuel source for the heart. That's right, despite current dietary
wisdom telling us that fat is bad for the heart, the heart excels at
converting fatty acids into energy for itself. Lamb tallow is also rich in
oleic acid, another very beneficial fat for the cardiovascular system. Palm
oil, lard, and olive oil are also rich in oleic acid.
Coconut oil: Coconut oil is loaded with lauric acid. As with butter, most
of the saturated fat in coconut oil is of the short and medium chain variety
which means coconut oil is not fattening, but used for energy. Because of
its high saturated fat content, coconut oil is very stable under high
temperatures, ideal for cooking and baking.
Far from causing cancer or heart disease, a healthy person needs to make
room for saturated fats in their diet. Avoiding them could do more harm than
good; but avoiding sugar, margarine, and vegetable oils is always good
advice.
Stephen Byrnes is a naturopath and nutritionist. His website,
http://www.powerhealth.net, is your one Internet stop for info on home study
programs in nutrition & natural therapies, free newsletter, and accurate
nutritional and living guides. Pay a visit today!
SOURCES:
Eat Right or Die Young by Dr. Cass Igram (Literary Visions Publishing; 1989)
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, MA, Mary Enig, PhD, and Patricia
Connolly (ProMotion Publishing; 1995)
Nutrition & Physical Degeneration by Weston Price, DDS (Keats Publishing;
1943) Available from the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation,
1-800-FOODS4U.
Eat Your Cholesterol by William Campbell Douglass (1985)
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