Saturated Fat is Good for You?

Saturated Fat is good for you??

In the latest news coming out of the United States this quarter, RFK Junior has declared Saturated Fat to be “unfairly demonised” for poor heart health and that he will encourage its consumption in the American Dietary Guidelines moving forward, which will include the school system and military (aka. millions of people).

This is an alarming move due to the substantial body of evidence and decades of dietary guidelines that state to the contrary. Keep saturated fat to within 10% of your total daily energy intake & replacing saturated fat (animal fats) with unsaturated fats (fish/plants) will improve health markers for cardiovascular disease & strokes. That’s what we have known to be true since the late 50’s. Yes, 75 years of strong recommendations in favour of reducing saturated fat. This is a complete 180. So is it true? Did we get it wrong?

Now, there is some newer research that suggests saturated fat intake may be “less harmful than previously understood.” This has been widely misinterpreted by many in the industry as “saturated fat is harmless”, which are two vastly different conclusions, as we still have strong evidence showing that an increase in saturated fat increases LDL cholesterol. 

There’s still so much room for continued research here, but for the time being, the body of evidence lies behind reducing saturated fat and increasing polyunsaturated fat as the key move for health improvement. To come out and encourage people to increase saturated fat intake could be catastrophic. 

This doesn’t impact many of us in Australia (yet), but there are two key lessons we need to pay attention to here.

1. It highlights the danger of misinterpreting or misrepresenting data, especially on this scale

2. It shows the importance of WHERE/ WHO you get your nutritional guidance from, and keeping a high level of scepticism. 

It’s scary to see a government regulation coming out that goes against a strong body of evidence, as this will potentially impact tens of millions of lives and put a greater strain on an already struggling health care system. So what can we do in this situation to protect our own health and that of our families? 

It’s important to turn your level of discernment up to 11. If it sounds too good to be true, or wildly polarising in view, double-check it. Ask a person of credibility in the profession, and no doubt they will be more than happy to oblige. If you are interested in nutrition, follow some leaders in the industry on your social media platform of choice using a few of these key indicators:

1. They don’t demonise a food group, ingredient or diet style 

2. Balanced and evidence-based approach to food quality & energy intake 

3. Evidence of university education and qualification 

4. Cite evidence when making claims

If you remember these guidelines, you can buffer out the health creators that are being misleading (either intentionally or innocently) and potentially harmful advice to follow. 

We at The Method Now like to follow the body of evidence. You won’t be getting any pseudoscience here. Please keep saturated fat to a minimum and consume plenty of poly and monounsaturated fats from plants, seeds, nuts and seafood. 

If you want a coach on your side who does their research, then we have your back. Click the link below to book a FREE 30-minute Nutrition Consultation and discover how we can work together. 

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