saturated fats vilified for no reason

[Guest guest]

> JoAn wrote:

> Saturated fats are problematic in certain illnesses such as high

> blood pressure and heart disease and the medical profession

> acknowledges this....

 

The medical profession " acknowledges " a fantasy -- that saturated

fats are problematic -- but oxidation and plaque deposition

heavily favours unsaturates; saturated fats don't oxidize enough

to be a problem.

 

The correlation that is mistakely drawn between high cholesterol

level and heart disease risk depends entirely on amount of

oxidation, not cholesterol level. And because saturated fats

don't oxidize well, its the unsaturated and especially

polyunsaturated fats that do oxidize readily that are behind

oxidation of the cholesterol.

 

Farmers make the livestock fat and slow with unsaturates and

polyunsaturates; that happens to us too. Grain-fed beef contains

a high percentage, resulting in the marbled meat we expect at the

supermarket; conversely, due to the low percentage in coconut

oil, on coconut oil the animals became lean and active.

 

Unsaturated fats are inflammation-causing and we get too much of

the wong ones. " Inflammation Nation " , a book by fatty acids

expert Floyd Chilton, goes into detail on inflammation caused by

unsaturated fats and gives references.

 

> JoAnn wote:

> Those who choose to consume large portions of

> saturated fats are in denial! This is one area the medical

> profession has researched thorougly!

 

Your argument that compares consuming " large portions " of fat

regularly to eliminating it from the diet is a common tactic of

enthusiasts with no other avenue of retort. Obviously excess or

deficiency is not good; how about compaing your low saturated,

high unsaturated diet to more balanced fare that includes

moderate saturated fat and enough unsaturates to povide the

necessary EFAs?

 

Your supposed oils controversy arises from a personal conviction,

shared by some in the medical profession, that is not supported

by fundamental research. In other words there is no direct

evidence that saturated fat or cholesterol causes heart disease;

all that exists are measurements of correlation and widespread

statements of speculation, fortified by the politics of the

medical profession.

 

Conversely, we do have evidence of the role that unsaturated fats

play in heart disease through their oxidation, so it seems a

simple matter to let the medical profession hammer out their

supposed controversy while we simply put a stop to our oxidative

stress and oxidized unsaturated oil that coats our arteries.

 

Duncan Crow

[Guest guest]

, Duncan Crow

<duncancrow wrote:

> The correlation that is mistakely drawn between high cholesterol

> level and heart disease risk depends entirely on amount of

> oxidation, not cholesterol level.

 

 

Greetings to you as well!

I don't recall that there was anything in my response to Alobar to

refute this very important point. we are dealing with this most

crucial aspect of heart disease on a daily basis in america. There

are constant reminders everywhere that heart attack rates are

soaring.

 

As you may know, EFAs and saturated fats have directly opposite

effects on our bodies. EFAs(especially n-3) increase insulin

sensitivity and make platelets less sticky, making a clot in an

artery (stroke, heart attack,embolism)less likely.

 

Saturated fats, on the other hand, increase insulin resistance and

make platelets even " more sticky " so to prevent the 'negative

effects' of saturated fats, we need to make sure that we optimize

our intake of EFAs in direct proportion to the amounts of saturated

fat included in our daily diets. In other words, we need to make

sure that the ratio of EFAs always exceeds our saturated fats.

 

The refining of unsaturated fats destroy their naturally occurring

vitamin and mineral content... vitamin E, etc... On the other hand,

oils which are pressed from organically grown seeds and protected

from light,air, and heat; filtered,filled into dark glass bottles

under the same protection; boxed to keep out light; refrigerated at

the factory and used carefullly in food preparation, i.e. (never

used for frying, sautéing, or baking).Oils made with care

(unprocessed oils from seeds and nuts) are found in the refrigerator

in healthfood stores. It is unusual to see this care taken in oil

preparation,packaging,storage and use but this kind of care is

neessary if EFA-rich oils are to retain their health benefits.

 

Good fats enhance flavors, suppress appetite, improve the absorption

of " oil-soluble nutrients " in foods,but the " quality " of the fats

you eat is much more important than the quantity.

 

If you ate only good fats, your fat intake could be as high as 60%

of calories from fats, yet you would never die of a " fat-related "

disease.We know that from research done with Inuit (Eskimo) people.

They did not die of clots in arteries, nor of diabetes, nor of

cancer, nor of multiple sclerosis.

The fats eaten by Inuit were not " damaged " (oxidized) by processing.

Their food fats were very rich in n-3 and n-6 derivatives.people

take up to 50% of their calories from n-3 oils and report

increased energy, less joint pain, better mood,better learning and

memory.

 

In Summary, there are fats that heal and fats that kill. Our choice

of which fats to eat and which to avoid must be made with very

careful consideration.

Essential Fats: n-3 and n-6.

The body can't make them, absolutely requires them, and must obtain

them from food. Lack of either one results in physical

deterioration.

 

All other fats, including monounsaturated and saturated, can be made

by the body from sugars and starches and therefore are " not

required " in the diet.

 

The only fats we " eat to live " are n-3 and n-6. Sources include

organic greens (very small amounts), seeds,raw nuts, sesame and

sunflower oil, fatty fish (herring, sardines, salmon, mackerel,

trout)and oils carefully pressed from n-3 and n-6 rich seeds.

 

Processing can damage natural fats and make them " toxic " .

 

Frying also damages fats and oils (this statement is all-

inclusive!!). Cooking oils contain " damaged fats " (oxidized fat) due

to " harsh chemical "

treatment followed by overheating before such oils are bottled.

Processing can 'damage' poly- and mono-unsaturated fats and can

further damage already-damaged trans-fats.

 

Because of their sensitivity to damage by light, air and heat,

healthy oils should be pressed from organically-grown seeds to avoid

toxic pesticide residues, bottled in brown glass and protected

against light. Such oils are found in Health Shops or practitioners'

offices.

 

In summary, we should use oils rich in n-3 and n-6 fats (2:1 ratio)

stored under protection from light, oxygen and heat,made from

organically-grown seeds.

 

 

Major medical journals have proven that tremendous stress can " cause "

heart failure from overload of our " stress hormones " .

 

In other words, we suffer from broken hearts, literally!

 

The more we understand about the subtleties of the human body, the

more the role of the mind-body relationship finds a niche.

For example,

we now know that depression is a major predictor of

death after a heart attack.

 

Who would have thought? The next major

research frontier may be a low-tech alternative to the

options above.

 

Fats are complex. I hope this helps to clarify some of your

questions in regards to healthy fats.

 

Best Regards,

JoAnn