This is not the image I wanted to use for this post but the cow wasn’t cooperating. Cowforkr.
I want to give a shout out today to fat. Fat is your friend!
Let’s qualify that: good fat is your friend. What is a good fat? Saturated Fat.
I know, I know. This goes against everything we thought we knew about fat. Fat makes you fat! Fat gives you heart disease! Fat raises your cholesterol!
Wrong. (Yay!)
Our fear of saturated fat began in the 1950s when Ancel Keys published a paper supposedly linking saturated fat/cholesterol with rising rates of heart disease. The problem was that he was cherry-picking his data:
Thankfully, now we know better. Here’s the truth:
Saturated fat lowers your risk of heart disease, improves bone density, strengthens immunity and helps balance hormones. Saturated fat increases energy levels, helps alleviate acne and eczema, alleviates food cravings, improves sun tolerance, and promotes peaceful sleep.
Of course, all these benefits are increased when we stop eating grains… but that’s for another post 😉
Dr. Michael Eades and Dr. Mary Eades wrote an amazing book on getting rid of the dangerous “spare tire” of fat that can accumulate around our belly as we age. This article from Tim Ferris features information the book and the authors and gives great insight into the role saturated fat plays in our overall health. Katie at Wellness Mama posted a great summary of the article:
Why You Need Saturated Fats:
1. Cardiovascular Benefits
Adequate saturated fat intake helps the body reduce levels of lipoprotein, a risk factor for heart disease. They note that there are currently no drugs that reduce levels of lipoprotein, so a high saturated fat diet is the only way to do so. Saturated fat also helps raise HDL cholesterol and contributes to overall weight loss (which has been shown to reduce risk of heart disease).
2. Bone Health
While calcium is absolutely necessary for bone health, saturated fat is necessary for calcium absorption.
According to one of the foremost research experts in dietary fats and human health, Mary Enig, Ph.D., there’s a case to be made for having as much as 50 percent of the fats in your diet as saturated fats for this reason. That’s a far cry from the 7 to 10 percent suggested by mainstream institutions
As women are told to reduce saturated fat and replace it with processed oils like vegetable and canola, it is logical that they begin to see bone loss.
3. Optimal Liver Function
The liver is central to many body functions including proper fat storage, metabolism, nutrient absorption and detoxification. Saturated fat helps protect the liver from the harmful effects of medicines and alcohol and signals the liver to dump fat stores. Other oils do not offer these benefits.
4. Strong Lungs
The lungs are coated with a slippery substance made up of, you guessed it: saturated fats. When the body doesn’t have proper amounts of these and has to replace this coating with other types of fats, breathing difficulties can ensue. It was even found that premature babies in respiratory distress syndrome lack this proper fat.
Some researchers feel that the wholesale substitution of partially hydrogenated (trans) fats for naturally saturated fats in commercially prepared foods may be playing a role in the rise of asthma among children.
5. Healthy Brain
The brain is made up of fats and cholesterol, mainly saturated fat. A diet low in saturated fats deprives the brain of the building blocks in needs for proper repair and function.
6. Nerve Communication
While dietary fat was given the blame for diabetes by some doctors, it seems that fat does contribute but in a much different way!
Certain saturated fats, particularly those found in butter, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil, function directly as signaling messengers that influence the metabolism, including such critical jobs as the appropriate release of insulin.
With insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome reaching near epidemic levels, the importance of dietary fat for this role alone can’t be overstated. Fortunately, doctors are finally starting to acknowledge the role of excess carbohydrates in insulin related problems.
7. Immune System Function
Saturated fats play a critical role in the function of a healthy immune system as well:
Saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil (myristic acid and lauric acid) play key roles in immune health. Loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells hampers their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Human breast milk is quite rich in myristic and lauric acid, which have potent germ-killing ability. But the importance of the fats lives on beyond infancy; we need dietary replenishment of them throughout adulthood, middle age, and into seniority to keep the immune system vigilant against the development of cancerous cells as well as infectious invaders.
So, now we see what an important role saturated fat plays in achieving optimal health. Butter from grass fed cows, meat and eggs from pastured animals, coconut oil, and avocados are all examples of healthy saturated fat.
This is my riff on Bulletproof Coffee, and it’s a great way to get a delicious daily dose of good fat.
- 2 tablespoons grass fed butter
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 2 cups hot coffee
- Place all ingredients in the container of your immersion blender. Blend for 20-30 seconds to emulsify the fats to ensure a creamy consistency.
Other sources, and therefore interesting additional reading:
The Definitive Guide to Saturated Fat from Mark’s Daily Apple
Four Reasons Saturated Fat is Healthy from Natural News
Saturated Fat: The Forbidden Food You Should Never Stop Eating from Dr. Mercola
Is Saturated Fat Healthy? from Wellness Mama
sharon Pattison says
I am really enjoying your blog and recipes. Martha is my friend ( I am one of her dreaming group)
I have gone back to school this year to study wholistic nutrition from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and I think the way you are weaving in knowledge and recipes is wonderful. Keep up the great work.