Your great grandmother may talk often of her favorite meals that were centered around saturated fats such as fresh milk, free-range eggs, butter and cheese. Perhaps, you cringe, telling her that such things are bad, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Pyramid. Surprisingly, your grandmother may still eat as she did when she was a kid, is pushing 90 years old and in excellent health. Don’t be too quick to call this luck. New research indicates that your grandmother may have been doing the right thing all along!
Breaking research has found polyunsaturated fats may increase the risk of death in people with heart disease. Not only were study participants who increased the polyunsaturated fats in their diet more likely to die from a coronary episode, but they were also more likely to die from other conditions when compared to a control group that made no dietary changes. Polyunsaturated fats are plant-based fats found in safflower oil and other “low fat” vegetable spreads and margarines.
These findings are of no surprise to a growing number of health advocates who put the blame for the rise in heart disease, obesity and a slew of other life-threatening conditions square on the shoulders of our Westernized diet.
Fractured Food Pyramid
Carbohydrates are the foundation of the present-day food pyramid where 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta are recommended. A high-percentage of foods in this group are made from refined flour, loaded with simple sugars, preservatives and gluten. Refined flour has no natural minerals or vitamins and encourages insulin resistance, obesity, and heart disease. Gluten intolerance, the inability to digest the protein gluten found in wheat, rye and barley, is widespread and on the rise. Gluten hides in most processed foods where it is not included on the label. Studies have also shown a decrease in autistic symptoms from a gluten-free diet.
Indigenous Cultures
Numerous studies have been conducted on tribes all over the world who eat diets high in saturated fat and experience long healthy lives. Among these groups are the Inuit who consume huge amounts of whale blubber but don’t have a word in their language for heart disease. These people are hunter-gatherer’s who eat what is naturally available to them, including saturated fat.
Out of the Box Science
For years, conventional medical authorities have told us that dietary fats increase the risk of heart disease. We have been warned to replace the saturated fat found in meats with the highly unstable fats found in vegetable oils, while increasing our refined carbohydrate intake.
Coincidentally, heart disease in America was virtually unheard of a mere 100 years ago and is now America’s top killer. Could it be that what we were once told would kill us is actually good for us? It looks that way. Anyone up for a grass-fed beef burger?
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130205200239.htm
https://www.thealternativedaily.com/debunking-the-myth-saturated-fats-are-good-for-you/
