By Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
You've been deceived into thinking that saturated fats are bad for you, but let's look at some facts below...
I’ll preface this article by saying that it will help if you have an open mind and accept that some of these facts are a slap in the face to politically correct nutrition in this day and age where fats are admonished by many doctors, health "experts", and the mass media.
Why You Need Healthy Dietary Fats for Your Overall Health
To start, eating an adequate supply of healthy dietary fats is vitally important to your overall health. Fats are one of the main components in all of the cell membranes throughout your entire body. If you eat enough healthy natural fats, your cellular processes will proceed normally.
On the other hand, if you eat man-made, heavily processed, chemically altered fats (damaged fats) that are found in most processed foods, your cellular function will be impaired as these damaged fats become part of your cell membranes, the body will have to work harder to operate correctly, and degenerative diseases can develop.
In addition, healthy dietary fats are necessary for optimal hormone production and balance within the body and are therefore essential for the muscle-building and fat-burning processes. Other important functions that dietary fats play in a healthy body are aiding vitamin and mineral utilization, enzyme regulation, energy, etc.
Why Low-Fat Diets Are Not the Solution to Good Health, Weight Loss, and Prevention of Degenerative Diseases
I cringe every time I hear so-called "health experts" recommend restriction of dietary fat, claiming that a low-fat diet is the key to good health, weight loss, and prevention of degenerative diseases. Restriction of any one macronutrient (protein, carbs, or fat) in your diet works against what your body needs and can only lead to problems.
All three basic macronutrients serve important functions for a lean, healthy, and disease-free body. As Dr. Mary Enig, Ph.D., one of the leading fats researchers in the world, notes in several of her books and articles, there is very little true scientific evidence supporting the assertion that a high-fat diet is bad for us.
How High-Fat Diets of Traditional Populations Prove That You Don't Need to Be Afraid of Dietary Fats
For example, if these so-called "health experts" that admonish fat are correct, and a low-fat diet is a solution to good health, then why did traditional Pacific Islanders who typically obtained 2/3 to 3/4 of their total daily calories from fat (mostly from coconut fat), remain virtually free from heart disease, obesity, and other modern degenerative diseases (that is, until Western dietary influences invaded)?
Also, why did traditional Eskimo populations, consuming up to 75% of their total caloric intake from fat (mostly from whale blubber, seal fat, organ meats, and cold water fish), display superior health and longevity without heart disease or obesity?
Why did members of the Masai tribe in Africa remain free from degenerative diseases and maintain low body fat percentages on diets consisting of large quantities of raw whole milk, blood, and meat? What about the Samburu tribe of Africa, which eats an average of 5 times the quantity of dietary fat (mostly from raw whole milk and meat) as overweight, disease-ridden Americans, yet Samburu members are lean, healthy, and free of degenerative diseases?
What about traditional Mediterranean diets, which are known to be very high in fat in some cases (sometimes up to 50-70% fat), and are also well known to be very healthy?
These examples of high-fat diets and the associated excellent health of traditional populations around the world go on and on, yet it seems that many doctors, nutritionists, and media outlets still ignore these facts and continue to promote a diet that restricts dietary fat intake.
How to Distinguish Between the Good Fats and the Bad Fats
Well, the problem is that the good fats (the natural unprocessed health-promoting fats) have gotten mistakenly lumped together in nutritional advice with the deadly processed fats and oils that make up a large percentage of almost all processed food that is sold at your local grocery store, restaurant, deli, fast food joint, etc. These deadly processed fats are everywhere and almost impossible to avoid unless you know what to look for and make smart choices in what you feed your body.
Take note that I’m not recommending following a super high-fat diet (although technically this can be more healthy than a high-carb diet as long as you choose healthy fats).
However, in most cases, active individuals who exercise regularly certainly also need adequate supplies of healthy carbohydrates for energy and muscle glycogen replenishment as well as good sources of protein for muscle repair. The above examples of the high-fat diets of traditional populations and their corresponding excellent health were simply to prove the point that you don't need to be afraid of dietary fats as long as you make healthy natural choices and stay within your daily caloric range to maintain or lose body fat (depending on your goals).
The Healthiest and Deadliest Fatty Foods
Following is a list of some of the healthiest fatty foods (some will surprise you!) as well as some of the deadliest fatty foods to try to avoid at all costs:
- The Healthiest Fatty Foods:
- Avocados
- Nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, etc)
- Seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, etc)
- Olive oil (extra virgin)
- Coconut oil (virgin)
- Organic grass-fed butter
- Organic free-range eggs
- Organic grass-fed beef or bison
- Organic free-range chicken or turkey
- Wild-caught fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, etc)
- Organic grass-fed cheese and yogurt
- Dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa content)
- The Deadliest Fatty Foods:
- Hydrogenated oils (also known as trans fats)
- Refined vegetable oils (soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, etc)
- Margarine and shortening
- Processed meats (hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ham, etc)
- Commercial baked goods (cakes, cookies, muffins, pastries, etc)
- Fast food (burgers, fries, nuggets, etc)
- Fried foods (chips, fried chicken, onion rings, etc)
Read Also - 3 Unique Veggies Actually Stimulate Burning Abdominal Fat
Conclusion
Dietary fats are not the enemy that they have been made out to be. In fact, they are essential for your overall health and well-being, as long as you choose the right types and amounts of fats. You don't need to be afraid of saturated fats, as they are not the cause of heart disease or obesity, as long as you eat them from natural and unprocessed sources.
You do need to avoid the processed and damaged fats, as they are the real culprits behind many chronic diseases and conditions. You should also learn how to distinguish between the healthy and unhealthy fatty foods, and make smart choices in what you feed your body.
In this article, we have revealed the shocking truth about dietary fats and saturated fats, and how to choose the right fats for your health and weight loss. We have also provided you with a list of some of the healthiest and deadliest fatty foods, and how to use them to achieve your health and wellness goals.
We hope that this article has helped you gain a better understanding and appreciation of dietary fats and saturated fats, and how they can help you or harm you. We also hope that this article has provided you with some practical and useful advice and resources that you can use to make informed and smart decisions about your dietary fat intake.
If you want to learn more about dietary fats and saturated fats, or if you need more help or guidance, you can visit some of the following websites or links that we have provided in the article:
Provided Source
- The Truth about Saturated Fat: A website that provides evidence-based information and research on saturated fat and its effects on health and disease.
- The Skinny on Fats: A website that provides a comprehensive and balanced overview of the role of dietary fats in human nutrition, based on the work of Dr. Mary Enig, Ph.D., one of the leading fats researchers in the world.
- Eat Fat, Lose Fat: A book that explains the benefits of eating healthy fats, especially coconut oil, for weight loss, health, and wellness, and provides recipes and meal plans to help you incorporate them into your diet.
A fully comprehensive analysis on dietary protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and how to compile all of this information into a diet that promotes a lean healthy body with a low body fat percentage is provided in my book “The Truth About Six Pack Abs”. Give it a try and you won’t be disappointed!
Thank you for reading this article, and we hope that you have found it helpful and informative. Please feel free to share your feedback, comments, or questions on the article, or to contact us for more information or assistance. We wish you all the best in your health and wellness journey!
