When we talk about health, most of the times we refer to our physical health.
Sexual health is also equally important as our ability to procreate is a sign of optimal health. In today’s article, I will reveal the untold truth about saturated fat and especially the cholesterol fad.
Table of Contents
What is saturated fat?
We already spoke about other types of fat in my previous 4 articles. The difference between saturated fatty acids, MUFAs (1 double bond) and PUFAs (2 or more double bonds) is that they have no double bonds in their molecule. To put it another way, for each carbon atom there are 2 hydrogen atoms making them ‘full’ or ‘saturated’.
This type of fat tends to solidify at room temperature.
Saturated Food Sources
Saturated food sources include:
- fatty meats such as beef, pork etc,
- full-fat dairy products such as butter, cream, milk,
- coconut oil,
- dark chocolate (more specifically cocoa butter and unsweetened cacao powder).
The importance of Saturated fats and the Cholesterol Fad
In the last couple of decades, the media unleashed a war on saturated fats and cholesterol with the excuse of taming the imaginary outburst of heart disease. This crusade began on the premise that the consumption of saturated fat would increase cholesterol and since high cholesterol levels were linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease – bingo! From that point on, all saturated fats were held responsible for heart disease.
However, this assumption was based on a study that was done in rabbits which were fed huge amounts of animal fat. Now if you know anything about biology, you should know that rabbits eat greens and not animal flesh and fat.
People have been told to avoid eating saturated fat as it can kill their heart. On top of that, in about 50 years time the maximum levels of cholesterol were reduced from 300 down to 250 and then down to 200. How is that important?
Apparently, anyone with a cholesterol level of over 200mg/dl is automatically assumed to be at high risk for heart disease and stroke. There are other facts that play part in that, such as, the vLDL levels (bad cholesterol), HDL levels (good) and triglycerides levels. Elevated LDL levels are linked to heart disease, while elevated levels of HDL can protect the heart! (Related studies: study1, study2, study3, study4 (https://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/5/e89.full), study5 (https://circ.ahajournals.org/content/79/1/8.short), study6).
When someone is diagnosed as having high cholesterol levels (in some cases they only look at TOTAL cholesterol which also contains HDL – the good kind), they are put on statins, which tend to lower cholesterol levels. So far so good, right? Not quite.
You see, cholesterol is an important element for our hormonal health as it is the precursor to testosterone. By driving cholesterol too low, the hormonal production chain is broken and your body will not make one or many necessary hormones. All hormones are linked which in turn means that depletion of one hormone would result in depletion of all of them.
So why would a doctor do that?
This is where the pharmaceutical industry factor comes in, as they are the providers of the statin drugs. Let me put it another way: if you could maintain healthy cholesterol levels by eating some coconut oil (which can actually raise HDL levels!) and exercising every day, would you need statins?
Now, that doesn’t mean that statins should not be prescribed in all cases. There are cases (study) that actually need to be put on statins (like people with Familial Hypercholesterolemia (a genetic disorder) and people who have a gene variant called ApoE4.
Also ,bear in mind that not all doctors mindlessly prescribe statins. There are good doctors who actually know about all of the above, try to help patients with lifestyle and nutritional changes thus making statins their last resort.
The take-home messages from the last two paragraphs are:
- Cholesterol is not really what people think it is.
- Saturated fat is a necessary factor for human health.
- It is not as deadly as people make it out to be as there is actual proof (study) that it does not lead to heart disease.
There have been many more studies (study, study) in the last 5 years which also established the same fact. For example, a recent Harvard study which involved people eating 3 eggs every day for breakfast indicated that this breakfast had no influence on their cholesterol levels. There is also one study about a man who ate 25 eggs per day and had no cholesterol problems at all!
There is another factor you need to take into account: the multi-billion dollar food industry which was based on low and 0% foods. These were marketed as healthy in the name of the almighty dollar. Low fat products are NOT healthy as they can interfere with hormone production and do more harm than good (plus most of them contain nasty ingredients).
How to safely consume saturated fats for optimal health
- Focus on consuming only grass-fed beef, full-fat dairy (raw) and coconut oil/products.
- Because they have no double bonds, saturated fats are resistant to high temperatures and do not go rancid like polyunsaturated fats. This means that they are ideal to cook with.
- Avoid low-fat products and diets as they can reduce testosterone levels and actually raise LDL levels. According to another study these low-fat products have no impact when it comes to lowering heart disease risk.
- Low fat products are often full of either processed sugars, carbs or artificial sweeteners which are more dangerous than saturated fats will ever be.
So learn to not fear saturated fats or high cholesterol levels and correct your diet by avoiding trans fat, calorie or fat-reduced processed foods, and including a good balance of saturated fats while also striving to keep the proper omega-3 and omega-6 ratio in check.
What to do next to fix your nutrition
For a more balanced diet, make protein and fats the center of your nutrition and get your carbs from natural sources like citrus fruits and whole grains in a much smaller percentage. Aim for 35% protein, 30% fat and 35% carbs as a start and experiment to find the exact ratio that works for you.
A rule of thumb for this is that you should feel full of energy and non-lethargic, with an amazing mood and you looking better in the mirror. I hope that you now fully understand why you must eat this fat to protect your physical and sexual health.
This article concludes my 5 part articles series on fat, its different types, benefits and dangers. I spoke about why fat is important and its different types in part1, talked about omega3s in part2, omega 6 and the need for balance in part3 and the most dangerous type of fat in part4. Reading all previous posts will give you a more complete idea of what fats are truly about.
I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did writing it. Putting together this article took a bit of time but it will only take you a second to click on the Share buttons below and show your support to this blog.
Also if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Until then stay strong, healthy and free!
by Nick Sigma
CWC, EH, E-YRT200
Sources:
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/11/everything-you-need-to-know-about-fatty-acids.aspx
- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
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