FACING THE FACTS ABOUT SATURATED FATS, HEART DISEASE, & CANCER

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Reprinted with permission of the author.

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FACING THE FACTS ABOUT SATURATED FATS, HEART DISEASE, & CANCER

Stephen Byrnes, ND, RNCP

Published in Health Naturally (Canada); Explore! (USA), at various times.

 

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)