A recently published meta-analysis looked at 347,747 subjects in twenty-one studies to summarize the evidence related to the association of dietary saturated fat with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and cardiovascular disease. During the 5 – 23 year follow-up 11,006 of the almost 350,000 subjects developed CHD or stroke.
Conclusion: Saturated fat consumption was not associated with an increased risk of heart disease or stroke
(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan 13, 2010)
Saturated fat found mainly in animal products has been vilified by physicians, the media, and the edible oil industry for over 60 years, despite mounds of evidence to the contrary. A meta-analysis of 21 prospective epidemiologic studies that had a total of 347,747 participants, showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease or stroke.
Saturated fats have been nourishing societies around the world for thousands of years. If animal fats (saturated fats) are so dangerous, and vegetable oils (polyunsaturated fat) are so healthy, why are we so unhealthy as a nation? The scientific data of the past and present does not support the assertion that saturated fats cause heart disease. As a matter of fact, people who have had a heart attack haven?t eaten any more saturated fat than other people, and the degree of atherosclerosis at autopsy is unrelated to diet.Ravnskov, Uffe. ?The cholesterol Myths: Myth number 4?
Coronary heart disease is associated with diet. Nutritional recommendations are frequently provided, but few long term studies on the effect of food choices on heart disease are available. We followed coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality in a cohort of 1752 rural men participating in a prospective observational study. Dietary choices were assessed at baseline with a food questionnaire. 138 men were hospitalized or deceased owing to coronary heart disease during the 12 year follow-up. Daily intake of fruit and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease when combined with a high dairy fat consumption, but not when combined with a low dairy fat consumption. Consuming wholemeal bread or eating fish at least twice a week showed no association with the outcome.
Today in the United States one person will die from CVD every 37 seconds. This year in the U.S. over 1.2 million people will have a heart attack and just short of half will die. Approximately 80,000,000 people or roughly 25% of The U.S. has cardiovascular disease(CVD). It became our number one killer in the 1950’s and has not slowed down.(1)
Do you believe consuming saturated fat and cholesterol cause CVD? Do you believe eating polyunsaturated oils like canola and corn oil are not only good for you but lower your risk of CVD. If you answered yes to both of these questions, you are among the 10’s of millions who need to be enlightened by reading my article “Fats, Cholesterol and the Lipd Hypothesis”.
The truth is, saturated fat and cholesterol have nothing to do with your risk of cardiovascular disease. As a matter of fact there are many studies that show that people who have heart attacks do not eat anymore saturated fat than people who don’t have heart attacks. More-over the degree of atherosclerosis at autopsy, in heart attack victims, is unrelated to diet. It is also interesting to note that half of all heart attack victims do not have “clogged” arteries.
I have personally witnessed and cared for many patients who were experiencing (the big one) massive heart attacks in the emergency room. The degree of blockage had a wide range with the most common seemingly being between 80, 90 percent. But the interesting thing was, some people literally had no plaque what-so-ever according to cath lab reports. It was during my time working in emergency department, because of so many discrepancies, that I became very curious about what actually caused CVD.
Looking for a snack to kill that between meal hunger? Try almonds. 28g, aproximatey 20 – 25 alomonds provides 5.9g of protein, 13.8g of fat, and 6.1g of carbohydrates. Don’t be alarmed by the fat content. The fat is what will suppress your appetite, and 62% of the fat found in almonds is oleic acid. In comparison, olive oil contains 71% oleic acid. This fatty acid has strong anti-inflammatory properties and is what gives olive oil it’s outstanding reputation. 7% of the fat content is palmitic acid and 2 percent is stearic acid. Both of these saturated fatty acids are the preferred energy source of the heart, which is why the fat surrounding the heart is highly saturated.
Unfortunately, up to 30% of the fat found in almonds is the polyunsaturated fat linoleic acid. This is a double unsaturated omega 6 fatty acid that has been shown to be pro-inflammatory, immuno-suppressive, and shown to cause weight gain. Thankfully, almonds have enough of the good fats to compensate for the bad polyunsaturated fats.
A good source of fiber 20 -25 almonds contain 3.4g. Also Rich in minerals, almonds contain good amounts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. So if your feeling hungry and you need something to munch on to hold you till the next meal, give almonds a try.
Nutritionaldata.com
Westonaprice.com
Enig,Mary. Know Your Fats. Silver Spring: Bethesda Press, 2000
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