Is Saturated Fat Bad for You?
I remember the yellow tub of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” in our fridge back in the 90’s…I would use it on toast in the mornings before school.
I also remember eating SnackWell’s Fat-Free Devil’s Food Cookies after dinner with my Dad.
And my parents limiting the amount of bacon we had each week…
Why?
Because fat was the enemy.
And saturated fat was Public Enemy #1.
Do you remember that, too?
Fast forward to today, 2020, and fat seems to be back.
From those on the Keto diet, to those cooking constantly with coconut oil and adding butter to their Bulletproof Coffee, I have many clients who come to me for coaching, already embracing fat as part of their diet.
But on the other hand, I have clients who are eating fat-free yogurt, drinking skim milk, and buying fat-free dressings at the grocery store.
So what’s the deal?
Is fat, and more specifically saturated fat, bad for you?
Or is it good for you?
I thought we’d uncover what the latest research is showing, in hopes to get a clear answer on if we’re choosing to eat fat (or not) based on current science.
The American Heart Association says to limit saturated fat to 6% of your caloric intake for the day
And the Cleveland Clinic says that healthy adults should limit their saturated fat per day to no more than 10% of their caloric intake
And if you have high cholesterol, they recommend to limit saturated fat to 7% of your daily intake for the day
Of course, this is all in alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The Dietary Guidelines PDF is extensive, but page 15 highlights the key recommendations for a “healthy eating pattern,” which includes limiting saturated fat to no more than 10% of your calories for the day.
The Guidelines also suggest that it’s hard to have more than 10% of your daily calories coming from saturated fat if you’re also trying to meet all of the other recommendations for fruits, veggies, grains, lentils, grains, and allowing for another 10% of your calories to come from sugar.
In the fine print, the Dietary Guidelines says that this limit on saturated fat is recommended because research shows that when you replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat, there’s a decrease in your risk of heart disease.
But this is something that might surprise you about saturated fat and unsaturated fat:
You can’t have one without the other.
All natural food has a combination of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat.
Which means that all animal and plant foods with fat all contain all 3 types of fat, just in different proportions.
Dairy is the only food “group” that has more saturated fat than unsaturated fat.
Meat, eggs, fish, nuts, and seeds all have more unsaturated fat than saturated fat.
We’re told to limit our red meat intake to limit saturated fat.
BUT one tablespoon of olive oil has more saturated fat than 100 grams (about 6 oz.) of pork chop….
AND oily fish, like mackerel, has 1.5 times the saturated fat of red meat…
We’re told to eat fish and olive oil and to limit meat because of saturated fat.
But when you break down the amount of saturated fat in oily fish and olive oil, and compare it to the saturated fat in meat, the messaging suddenly becomes very confusing.
For example:
Diets rich in coconut oil, which is 80-90% saturated fat, have been shown to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
On the other hand, Harvard points out:
“Although epidemiological studies find that groups of people who include coconut as part of their native diets (e.g., India, Philippines, Polynesia) have low rates of cardiovascular disease, it is important to note that many other characteristics, dietary and other, could be explanatory.
Also, the type of coconut they eat is different than what is used in a typical Western diet. These groups do not eat processed coconut oil, but the whole coconut as coconut meat or pressed coconut cream, along with an indigenous diet of foods rich in fiber and low in processed and sugary foods.”
On one hand:
Some researchers are finding that saturated fat helps regulate our immune system, hormonal balance, and reduces inflammation.
And on the other hand:
Studies show that replacing saturated fat with monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat lowers one’s risk of heart disease events.
On one hand:
A diet rich in saturated fat can increase inflammation in the gut, negatively impact your microbiome diversity, increase endotoxins, and increase gut permeability.
This can lead to increased inflammation throughout the body, which has been tied to several diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Some studies show that saturated fat can increase one’s risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and overall cancer, and decrease one’s survival of breast cancer.
And on the other hand:
Research shows that factors outside of saturated fat must be considered to lower one’s risk of cancer, recommending:
“A healthy diet is to cut the intake of red and processed meat, refined grains, sweets, caloric drinks, juices, convenience food, and sauces and stick to Mediterranean patterns of diet, preferring consumption of whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, nuts, and fish.”
And something else to consider is what you’re replacing saturated fat with:
Studies show that replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrates exacerbates dyslipidemia (that includes increased triglycerides, increased small LDL particles, and reduced HDL)
Some studies show that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat lowers both HDL and LDL cholesterol and reduces heart disease risk
And other studies show that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat has no effects
You can see how confusing and overwhelming and oftentimes, conflicting, the research is when it comes to saturated fat!
As one study concludes, saturated fat has “been long vilified for their detrimental health effects, but the current consensus of nutritionists is that saturated fat does not pose a risk when consumed in moderation within a well-balanced diet.”
And another study calls out that dietary efforts to reduce heart disease risk should focus on limiting refined carbohydrates and reducing excess fat on the body.
And as written in a review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine:
“If the public health message were revised to advise citizens to eat natural food and not processed food, saturated fat intake might fall although the health benefit would likely be due to the concomitant reduction in sucrose, trans fats and other processed ingredients deleterious to human health. Human beings evolved to eat foods available from the natural environment. It does not seem logical to advise populations away from carcass meat, dairy, eggs, nuts and seeds, in the name of saturated fat, when the modern processed foods, cookies, cakes, pizza, desserts and ready meals are more sensibly related to modern illness.”
My biggest piece of advice to you when it comes to saturated fat:
To never live in the extremes.
I wouldn’t obsess with limiting saturated fat.
Just as I wouldn’t recommend eating butter, bacon, and coconut oil in copious amounts either.
And as I always coach my clients, it’s best not to focus on just one nutrient.
Yes, I realize I just examined one nutrient (saturated fat) in detail.
Because that is what many ask me about 😊 From protein to fat to carbs, you want to know what’s best for your health.
But at the end of the day, a single nutrient shouldn’t be your focus.
Why?
Because a single nutrient works in conjunction with other nutrients.
Saturated fat doesn’t operate in your body on it’s own, in isolation from everything else.
It’s working in your body with all the other things you’re consuming and doing.
And that goes for every nutrient out there.
In SUMMARY, this is my professional opinion:
Eat saturated fats in the context of a well-balanced diet.
Eat saturated fats in the context of sleeping well, moving your body each day, eating fruits and veggies and whole grains and lentils, and in the context of reducing your stress, feeling connected to a community, and grounded in your faith.
That’s what health looks like and feels like.
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