By Elena Voropay

Smooth chocolate, creamy ice-cream, sizzling fish, cheesy pizza – what do all these foods have in common? They all taste good, we crave them all and they all are loaded with fat. Nothing seals the flavor of any food like fat does. Fat is the scrumptious kick that brings the feeling of happy satisfaction after a delicious meal. And as long as that kick doesn’t come from the artery-clogging cancer-causing saturated fat, we are doing our bodies good, right? Wrong. We have been taught to substitute butter with healthy fish, flax or olive oils. But myths surrounding Saturated Fat are on their way down and you are about to uncover the true story behind it.

History of Our Diets

Our ancestors have been carnivorous hunters from the Paleolithic Age and have been eating saturated fat for over the past 2.5 million years. What’s more, sources of energy came mostly from animal sources comprising 65 percent of all consumed calories and fats were mostly saturated and monounsaturated, coming primarily from fatty meats, butter, full-fat dairy, tallows, coconut oil and small amounts of olive oil. Vegetable oils contributed to only 35 percent of total calories, making diets of our ancestors anything but vegetarian-like.

In the middle of the last century researchers have found correlation between high consumption of polyunsaturated plant oils and reduced total and artery-clogging LDL blood cholesterol levels. Since 1950 a lot of research has shown that dietary consumption of saturated fat can elevate LDL and overall blood cholesterol levels, harden the arteries, and trigger several degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. We have been instructed to stay away from saturated fats, eat more carbohydrates while limiting total fat consumption. Now most of the calories we eat arrive in our fat stores from carbohydrates and polyunsaturated oils from vegetable oils derived mostly from soy, as well as from corn, safflower and canola.

So, what has changed since then? More research has been done showing that replacing saturated fats with carbohydrates and polyunsaturated fats may do us more harm than good.

What Is Saturated Fat

Providing 9 calories per gram, all fats are essential for completion of a healthy diet. Fats are commonly divided into classes of saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans fatty acids.

Saturated Fats have are the simplest most stable fatty acids which are solid at room temperature. Saturated fats are perfect for frying and have a very long shelf life compared to all vegetable oils. We know them from butter, ghee, coconut and palm kernel oils, but saturated fat can be found in practically every fat and oil in different amounts. Even your own body makes saturated fat from carbohydrates.

All plant, seed and nut oils which we think are healthy and beneficial to our health naturally have saturated fats in various amounts. What makes olive oil different from beef lard is the proportion and the amount of each fatty acid they contain. Palm kernel and Coconut oils have three times more saturated fat than chicken fat, twice as much as animal lard, and one-third more saturated fat than butter! And this fat comes from natural plants, given to us as a gift for life and vitality. Sesame Oil consists of 15% of saturated fats, 42% monounsaturated fats, and 43% polyunsaturated fats. Olive oil has 14% saturated, 77% monounsaturated, and 9% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Even your healthiest versions of Safflower, Sunflower and Walnut oils contain 10% saturated fat.

Saturated Fats – What They Do For Us

Research shows that certain kinds of saturated fats are found only in the natural fats such as animal fats and coconut and palm kernel oils. Some of these unique and beneficial fatty acids can be obtained only from dairy and human milk, while others are found in many other sources in various amounts. The important part is that if we don’t get enough saturated fatty acids from our diet, our bodies don’t function properly.

Saturated fats provide us with energy, regulate hormone production, support structure and synthesis of cellular membranes, dissolve and assist in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, promote proper use and distribution of carbohydrates and proteins, sustain construction of various structural elements in cells and tissues, and is needed in the body for organ padding. You may be surprised to learn that certain saturated fatty acids are also needed for important signaling and stabilization processes in the body.

Brain Connection

Getting enough saturated fats from your diet is extremely important for all of the cells in the body. Membranes of all the cells in our bodies are made of phospholipids in the form of mostly saturated fatty acids. This is especially true for the brain cell membranes where all the important functions, such as thinking and feeling, depend on the integrity of phospholipids composition. So, if you want to improve your brain activity, ensuring the integrity of brain cell membranes with saturated fat is a must.

Body Fat Connection

Saturated fat will not make you fatter and may even shed your kilos. While previous researches said that the fat you eat is the primary nutrient that knows a shortcut to your hips and thighs, now more breakthrough experiments confirm that saturated fatty acids are used by the body as a source of immediate energy. Specifically, short- and medium-chain fatty acids (primarily from milk, dairy, coconut and palm kernel oils) are absorbed directly and rapidly into the blood, delivered to the liver and quickly metabolized for energy. Your body burns these fats before it has a chance to store them.

Appetite Control Connection

Low-fat diets are history and a good one to learn from. They left us fatter than ever, promoting uncontrollable appetite and extreme cravings for carbohydrates. Adding fat to the meal not only seals the flavor and essence of the dish you can taste on your tongue, it makes eating satisfying and palatable for your brain – the ultimate organ you are trying to feed. Science shows that there is much more to proper body nourishing than caloric energy. Slow-digesting saturated fat lowers the glycemic index of any food you eat thus limiting the rise of fat-storing hormone insulin. Adding butter to your sugar-filled pastry will curb your hunger and maintain blood sugar levels for many hours longer than a fat-free dry chalk-tasting cookie.

But bear in mind that if you consistently eat a lot of fat, you may be consuming too many calories. Not only will this make you fatter, but you also run a risk of developing several metabolic life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, some cancers

 Nutrient Connection
 
Argueably, Omega-3 fatty acids from fish and flax seed oils are considered to be the healthiest fats nowadays. But even these are better absorbed and utilized by the body in the presence of saturated fats. In fact, your body retains Omega-3s longer and uses these for a multitude of protective functions.

Saturated fat also improves the absorption of minerals calcium and magnesium, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, K and E - all necessary for proper growth and function of nervous system, brain integrity, re-construction of bones and muscles, and for functional strength. Interestingly, vitamin A from butter was found to be better absorbed and utilized than from other sources. Milk and dairy products, meat and fish naturally contain saturated fats, and any kind of de-fattening or skimming will strip away micronutrients, including minerals and fat-soluble vitamins.

Digestion Connection

Anyone having problems digesting fats will ease the problem by choosing saturated fats over unsaturated. One kind of saturated fatty acids primarily found in coconut oil may be digested without certain pancreatic enzymes required for all other fats. Anyone suffering from gall bladder problems or diabetes will find that adding saturated fat will improve the transport of nutrients to the needed tissues and increase their energy level without putting additional strain on the digestive system.

Saturated fat helps build good bacterial flora in the digestive tract, inactivates various harmful microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast, fungi, and enveloped viruses by disrupting the lipid membranes of the organisms.

Immunity Connection

Recent research has shown that saturated fat may protect your liver, the most important organ involved in regulating all biochemical processes in the body. Eating more saturated fat increases liver resistance to oxidative stress and decrease liver fat stores which accumulate from toxins build up.

Saturated fat is essential in genetic regulation, it has shown to prevent cancer and support immune system function. It serves as a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-caries and anti-plaque agent and is known for its antiviral and antibacterial functions.

Increased intake of saturated fat may protect your liver, increase liver resistance to oxidative stress and decrease liver triglyceride levels, according to recent research published in the American Journal of Nutrition.

Bone and Joint Connection

Bones depend on saturated fat! Made of inorganic mineral salts calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, fluoride and sulfate, your bones continuously regenerate themselves. With age, bones start de-mineralizing, or losing calcium and other minerals, leading to weaker skeletal structure. Getting dietary calcium becomes extremely important, but it cannot be utilized without the presence of vitamin D and cholesterol. Cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, a very important fat-soluble vitamin needed for healthy bones, nervous system, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction and immune system function.

Saturated fat may protect your joints from degenerative arthritis due to the “antistiffness” compound called The Wulzen Factor found in raw butter and milk fat. Interestingly, pasteurization of milk and dairy destroys the Wulzen factor, and milk skimming trims away the protective shield naturally present in milk.

Lung Connection

We need saturated fat to support proper lung function and ensure that enough palmitic acid molecules will get to the cell. Lung surfactant dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, a special phospholipid with 100 percent saturated fatty acids, has two saturated palmitic acid molecules attached to it. These are essential for your lungs to work effectively.

Heart and Blood Connection

Recent research shows that having enough saturated fat prevents stroke. Some studies proposed that the heart uses saturated fatty acids as a preferred fuel source. Deficiencies in two saturated fatty acids, palmilic and myristic, are responsible for age-related declines in white blood cell function. This can be corrected simply by adding saturated fat rich in these acids to the diet.

How Much Saturated Fat To Eat

This is one of the most difficult questions to answer. For decades doctors have been telling us to there is no biological requirement for saturated fat and dietary cholesterol is detrimental to our health. Science has come a long way since then, and now we know that moderate amounts of cholesterol and all kinds of fatty acids are important for optimal functioning of our systems. In fact, many studies suggest that very low fat diets alter the healthy balance of our blood composition decreasing ‘good’ HDL cholesterol together with ‘bad’ LDL.

As with any food, saturated fat is healthy when consumed in moderation. Current guidelines limit our consumption of saturated fat to only 10 percent of total daily calories. That translates to approximately 10 grams for every 1000 calories. If you are on a weight loss diet and eat 1500 calories a day, any more than a tablespoon of butter is considered harmful. However, newer findings may be seen as liberation to enjoy the finest, freshest most aromatic butter you can imagine. And don’t even think about blaming yourself for that silky smooth slice of cheese-cake. Consider all pizzas and steaks your guilt-free foods and remember to enjoy them in small amounts.

*Values expressed as percent of total fat. Except for the figures on rice bran oil, data are from analyses at Harvard School of Public Health Lipid Laboratory and U.S.D.A. publications.