Nov 19, 2021 07:31 PM
https://elemental.medium.com/cheese-eggs...5bbd1a0996
EXCERPTS: . . . foods high in saturated fatty acids — including eggs, full-fat dairy products, and red meat — raise blood levels of cholesterol, including LDL cholesterol. It stands to reason that eating these foods would increase a person’s risks for cardiovascular disease [...] This logic has led both the World Health Organization and U.S. health authorities to recommend that people limit their intakes of saturated fat.
But there’s a problem: People who eat these foods don’t seem to develop cardiovascular disease at elevated rates (CVD).
A 2019 research analysis in the journal Nutrition Reviews looked at the findings of both observational studies and randomized controlled trials. It found no consistent associations between dietary intakes of saturated fat and heart disease — the most common and deadly form of CVD.
What explains this disconnect? A new hypothesis, published earlier this year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, may provide the answer. “I think we have been grossly wrong about saturated fats,” says Marit Kolby [...] “In my opinion, saturated fat has been blamed for what refined carbohydrates do.”
[...] While the research linking saturated fat to cardiovascular disease is weak and inconsistent, recent studies have found strong associations between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and CVD. More work has tied ultra-processed foods to an elevated risk for inflammatory bowel disease, as well as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, frailty, death, and depression.
The ultra-processed foods called out in this research include breakfast cereals, soft drinks, snack foods, low-fat dairy products, and pretty much any other packaged food that includes preservatives, artificial flavors, or other additives.
Kolby says that steering people away from saturated fatty acids may be driving them to eat more of these unhealthy processed foods. “The innovation in low-fat and fat-reduced products has been detrimental to our health because of the substitution of fats with refined carbohydrates and problematic additives,” she says. (You can read more about her views on nutrition here.)
Others share her take. “The problem is that when you limit fat, you naturally eat a lot more carbs, including both sugars and starches that raise blood-sugar and insulin levels,” says Jeff Volek, PhD [...] He agrees that frightening people away from saturated fats and towards processed carbohydrates is hurting our health, not helping it.
[...] None of this should be read as encouragement to pack your diet full of fatty dairy products, red meat, and other sources of SFAs. Vegetables, fruits, and true whole-grain foods are consistently linked with better health outcomes... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: . . . foods high in saturated fatty acids — including eggs, full-fat dairy products, and red meat — raise blood levels of cholesterol, including LDL cholesterol. It stands to reason that eating these foods would increase a person’s risks for cardiovascular disease [...] This logic has led both the World Health Organization and U.S. health authorities to recommend that people limit their intakes of saturated fat.
But there’s a problem: People who eat these foods don’t seem to develop cardiovascular disease at elevated rates (CVD).
A 2019 research analysis in the journal Nutrition Reviews looked at the findings of both observational studies and randomized controlled trials. It found no consistent associations between dietary intakes of saturated fat and heart disease — the most common and deadly form of CVD.
What explains this disconnect? A new hypothesis, published earlier this year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, may provide the answer. “I think we have been grossly wrong about saturated fats,” says Marit Kolby [...] “In my opinion, saturated fat has been blamed for what refined carbohydrates do.”
[...] While the research linking saturated fat to cardiovascular disease is weak and inconsistent, recent studies have found strong associations between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and CVD. More work has tied ultra-processed foods to an elevated risk for inflammatory bowel disease, as well as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, frailty, death, and depression.
The ultra-processed foods called out in this research include breakfast cereals, soft drinks, snack foods, low-fat dairy products, and pretty much any other packaged food that includes preservatives, artificial flavors, or other additives.
Kolby says that steering people away from saturated fatty acids may be driving them to eat more of these unhealthy processed foods. “The innovation in low-fat and fat-reduced products has been detrimental to our health because of the substitution of fats with refined carbohydrates and problematic additives,” she says. (You can read more about her views on nutrition here.)
Others share her take. “The problem is that when you limit fat, you naturally eat a lot more carbs, including both sugars and starches that raise blood-sugar and insulin levels,” says Jeff Volek, PhD [...] He agrees that frightening people away from saturated fats and towards processed carbohydrates is hurting our health, not helping it.
[...] None of this should be read as encouragement to pack your diet full of fatty dairy products, red meat, and other sources of SFAs. Vegetables, fruits, and true whole-grain foods are consistently linked with better health outcomes... (MORE - missing details)