Saturated Fats

_John_

Frankly our level of knowledge about nutrition is so lacking that trying to say specific types of fats are simply better than others, or whatever, is unsupportable.

Don't get caught up in the details, especially when we're so clueless. Just eat food you enjoy, eat lots of veggies, exercise, and get appropriate macro and calorie intake. Spend the rest of your time doing things worthwhile.

I'd add..and exercise...

kgreenRDLDN

Frankly our level of knowledge about nutrition is so lacking that trying to say specific types of fats are simply better than others, or whatever, is unsupportable.

Don't get caught up in the details, especially when we're so clueless. Just eat food you enjoy, eat lots of veggies, exercise, and get appropriate macro and calorie intake. Spend the rest of your time doing things worthwhile.

I'd add..and exercise...

I agree but I would change eat food you enjoy to eat more whole foods you enjoy and less processed or deep friend foods. Lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and exercise.

kgreenRDLDN

I have yet to be convinced either way. I don't go out of my way to avoid saturated fats, but I generally stick to around 20g per day as a general rule. I have a family history of high LDL cholesterol and heart disease and dropping dead at relatively young ages from heart attacks...so I don't take any of this too lightly and just try to be as healthy as I can be.

Also, in as much as I've read, there are substantial differences in the saturated fat from animals vs plants...so not all saturated fats are created equal. Medium vs long chain...blah, blah, blah, blah....

This^^ Research is still evolving, Long chain saturated fats are more unhealthy than medium chain. The medium chain is what is in Coconut oil. Some people can handle saturated fats better than others.

Which isomers of saturated fat are unhealthy? Stearic acid which is considered a long chain fatty acid (n:18) that desaturates and metabolizes quickly into oleic acid which is a short chain monounsaturated fat with the same isomer location (n:18) and has shown to reduce LDL.....basically it's considered a good saturated fat if we're going to label things as good or bad.

Exactly...which isomers of saturated fat? Careful with the assumptions that are not in agreement with organic chemistry.

I could not tell you the exact breakdown anymore. Ive been out of college to long to remember. I'm a registered Dietitian so I have gone through organic Chem and all that fun stuff. However the saturated fats that are long chain have been shown to be "stickier" and are the ones that tend to stick to the walls of your veins/arteries....however like I said, research on this is still evolving and new information is coming out everyday. I have seen some people with perfect cholesterol levels, then they started using coconut oil/taking a coconut oil supplement and their cholesterol levels started to climb. That was the only change they made in their daily routine. So again everyone handles fats differently, saturated, long chain, medium chain or short chain. Depending on genetics and the persons body can contribute to cholesterol and in some it does not.

I agree with you when you said that the science is evolving. It is not uncommon to hear about people improving their LDL and HDL with a change in their diet by INCREASING natural fats, including the natural saturated fats. I am one of those people. And I refuse to be considered a rare snowflake. And there is more evidence in the scientific literature that certain fats, including saturated fats, which were once demonized, are now regarded as healthy and not a contributor to risk of heart disease.

I think the key to your statement is NATURAL fats. deep fried foods will never be healthy for us, but natural fats in whole foods is, and is digested/used differently. I think that is the big difference in the idea of good and bad saturated fats. Those that are found naturally in foods and those that we have added/created.

jonnythan

Frankly our level of knowledge about nutrition is so lacking that trying to say specific types of fats are simply better than others, or whatever, is unsupportable.

Don't get caught up in the details, especially when we're so clueless. Just eat food you enjoy, eat lots of veggies, exercise, and get appropriate macro and calorie intake. Spend the rest of your time doing things worthwhile.

I'd add..and exercise...

I agree but I would change eat food you enjoy to eat more whole foods you enjoy and less processed or deep friend foods. Lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and exercise.

Exercise was already in my list, readers.

I think adding unnecessary restrictions like "more whole" or "less processed" or "less fried" is pointless. Eat food you like to eat. Eat veggies. Enjoy yourself.

Phoenix_Warrior

Frankly our level of knowledge about nutrition is so lacking that trying to say specific types of fats are simply better than others, or whatever, is unsupportable.

Don't get caught up in the details, especially when we're so clueless. Just eat food you enjoy, eat lots of veggies, exercise, and get appropriate macro and calorie intake. Spend the rest of your time doing things worthwhile.

I'd add..and exercise...

I agree but I would change eat food you enjoy to eat more whole foods you enjoy and less processed or deep friend foods. Lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and exercise.

Exercise was already in my list, readers.

I think adding unnecessary restrictions like "more whole" or "less processed" or "less fried" is pointless. Eat food you like to eat. Eat veggies. Enjoy yourself.

+1 :drinker:

neanderthin

I have yet to be convinced either way. I don't go out of my way to avoid saturated fats, but I generally stick to around 20g per day as a general rule. I have a family history of high LDL cholesterol and heart disease and dropping dead at relatively young ages from heart attacks...so I don't take any of this too lightly and just try to be as healthy as I can be.

Also, in as much as I've read, there are substantial differences in the saturated fat from animals vs plants...so not all saturated fats are created equal. Medium vs long chain...blah, blah, blah, blah....

This^^ Research is still evolving, Long chain saturated fats are more unhealthy than medium chain. The medium chain is what is in Coconut oil. Some people can handle saturated fats better than others.

Which isomers of saturated fat are unhealthy? Stearic acid which is considered a long chain fatty acid (n:18) that desaturates and metabolizes quickly into oleic acid which is a short chain monounsaturated fat with the same isomer location (n:18) and has shown to reduce LDL.....basically it's considered a good saturated fat if we're going to label things as good or bad.

Exactly...which isomers of saturated fat? Careful with the assumptions that are not in agreement with organic chemistry.

I could not tell you the exact breakdown anymore. Ive been out of college to long to remember. I'm a registered Dietitian so I have gone through organic Chem and all that fun stuff. However the saturated fats that are long chain have been shown to be "stickier" and are the ones that tend to stick to the walls of your veins/arteries....however like I said, research on this is still evolving and new information is coming out everyday. I have seen some people with perfect cholesterol levels, then they started using coconut oil/taking a coconut oil supplement and their cholesterol levels started to climb. That was the only change they made in their daily routine. So again everyone handles fats differently, saturated, long chain, medium chain or short chain. Depending on genetics and the persons body can contribute to cholesterol and in some it does not.

Stickier? seriously? You think saturated fat sticks to our artery walls, say it ain't true and coming from a dietitian.