The Benefits of Saturated Fat; Re-defining the Modern Diet

Saturated fats from natural, grass-fed, free-range animal products allow for immeasurable nutrient absorption, benefitting our cells, bones, muscles, tissues, organs, body and soul. The benefits of saturated fats are immense. For one, saturated fats protect the heart and keep it layered in fat storage that can later be drawn on in times of stress. Butter and coconut oil for example, provide special saturated fats that have antimicrobial properties while also fighting pathogens in the gut. Most natural, grass-fed animal foods that contain saturated fat also contain essential monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are oftentimes only utilized and stored properly through the consumption of saturated fats found in animal foods.

In our modern “American” diet, high levels of vegetable oil consumption correspond with many life-affecting and action-inhibiting processes. The obesity epidemic is one very large (no pun intended) red flag that alone describes the desperate state of health within our nations citizens, not to mention any other nation dependent upon westernized eating habits. Our health officials tell us to avoid certain dietary fats due to triglycerides; however what they do not tell us that triglycerides are made from the excess sugars in the liver, oftentimes from excess refined sugars (carbohydrates) that have not been used for energy. Supporters of the vegetable oil industry would justify limiting consumption of saturated fats through increased consumption of unsaturated oils; monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. This rise in unsaturated fatty acid as a main source of dietary fat corresponds directly with the rise in heart disease within our nation. Saturated fat consumption however, has actually declined while heart disease is still rising and today causes at least forty percent of all US deaths; a realistic killer.

Saturated fats have many undisputed benefits. On a cellular level, saturated fats make up at least fifty percent of our cell membranes. Calcium absorption can only be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure with adequate amounts of saturated fat intake (at least fifty percent), and when a diet is rich in saturated fat, the omega-3 fatty acid is better retained in the tissues. Specific short and medium chain saturated fatty acids have antimicrobial properties that protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract. An interesting note is that prior to 1920 coronary heart disease was a rarity, and today analysis of clogged arteries suggests that only approximately 26 percent of the artery walls are saturated, while the majority of the rest is polyunsaturated.

Sources:

Nourishing Traditions; The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. Sally Fallon

The Fourfold Path to Healing; Working with the Laws of Nutirion, Therapeutics, Movement and Meditation in the Art of Medicine. Thomas S. Cowan

Nutrition: The Complete Guide; Official Course Text for ISSA’s Specialist in Fitness Nutrition Program. John Berardi, Ryan, Andrews

Tracy Taylor

Food Activist

Live. Love. Learn. Eat Well!