I love fat.
Polys, monos, and... SATURATED fat. Yes, saturated fats.
Remember when we all thought a high carb, low fat diet was a grand idea? Now we all look back and laugh. Well, gone are the days of avoiding saturated fats.
But wait, I'm not talking about saturated fat that you find in pizza or cheeseburgers. I'm talking about naturally occurring saturated fat in grass-fed animal products and coconut products.
I make sure to incorporate grass-fed beef, coconut oil, and coconut milk into my diet regularly. Of course there are also grass-fed dairy products (including butter), but I don't consume dairy so it doesn't apply to me.
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| Mmmm...grassy. |
Grass-fed beef is night and day from grain, corn, or hay-fed beef. Grass-fed beef retains it's healthy omega 6 to omega 3 ratio, and CLA. Cows fed diets of grain, corn, or hay (and who only knows what else) tend to have an inflammatory response that allows bacteria to enter the bloodstream, hence the need for oodles of antibiotics. Yikes!
Grass-fed beef is more expensive, but it's worth it! When you purchase grass-fed meat, make sure you ask the butcher if the beef is 100% grass-fed, otherwise they are able to feed the cow grains it's entire life and grass for only the last two weeks. This means it is "grass finished", and you don't want that. You can get it at Whole Foods, your local co-op, or you can order it from www.GrassLandBeef.com
Coconut oil is about 95% saturated fat, half of which comes from Lauric Acid, which is a medium-chain fatty acid. The Lauric Acid is converted into monolaurin which has antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiprotozoal properties. Holy powerhouse! I also read a study that is testing coconut oil in endurance athletes because it's easily converted to energy. 46
Before you can start spewing information on how saturated fat causes heart disease and raises blood pressure, I urge you to take a closer look at the studies. While I haven't read every study ever done, the ones I have read have been about people consuming a ton of saturated fat, along with living a horribly unhealthy lifestyle and eating complete garbage.
I'm not recommending that you eat steak and coconut oil all day long. However, some saturated fat is necessary for the functions listed below, so you may as well get that saturated fat from grass-fed beef products and the almighty coconut. Why? Because these are naturally occurring sources which is always the way to go!
Before you can start spewing information on how saturated fat causes heart disease and raises blood pressure, I urge you to take a closer look at the studies. While I haven't read every study ever done, the ones I have read have been about people consuming a ton of saturated fat, along with living a horribly unhealthy lifestyle and eating complete garbage.
I'm not recommending that you eat steak and coconut oil all day long. However, some saturated fat is necessary for the functions listed below, so you may as well get that saturated fat from grass-fed beef products and the almighty coconut. Why? Because these are naturally occurring sources which is always the way to go!
The Benefits of Saturated Fats
Courtesy of: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/526-skinny-on-fats.html#benefits
- Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50% of the cell membranes. They are what gives our cells necessary stiffness and integrity.
- They play a vital role in the health of our bones. For calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50% of the dietary fats should be saturated.38
- They lower Lp(a), a substance in the blood that indicates proneness to heart disease.39 They protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins, such as Tylenol.40
- They enhance the immune system.41
- They are needed for the proper utilization of essential fatty acids.
Elongated omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats. 42 - Saturated 18-carbon stearic acid and 16-carbon palmitic acid are the preferred foods for the heart, which is why the fat around the heart muscle is highly saturated.43 The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of stress.
- Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have important antimicrobial properties. They protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract.
The scientific evidence, honestly evaluated, does not support the assertion that "artery-clogging" saturated fats cause heart disease.44 Actually, evaluation of the fat in artery clogs reveals that only about 26% is saturated. The rest is unsaturated, of which more than half is polyunsaturated.45
Courtesy of: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/526-skinny-on-fats.html#benefits
38. Watkins, B A, et al, "Importance of Vitamin E in Bone Formation and in Chrondrocyte Function" Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, AOCS Proceedings, 1996; Watkins, B A, and M F Seifert, "Food Lipids and Bone Health," Food Lipids and Health, R E McDonald and D B Min, eds, p 101, Marcel Dekker, Inc, New York, NY, 1996
39. Dahlen, G H, et al, J Intern Med, Nov 1998, 244(5):417-24; Khosla, P, and K C Hayes, J Am Coll Nutr, 1996, 15:325-339; Clevidence, B A, et al, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 1997, 17:1657-1661
40. Nanji, A A, et al, Gastroenterology, Aug 1995, 109(2):547-54; Cha, Y S, and D S Sachan, J Am Coll Nutr, Aug 1994, 13(4):338-43; Hargrove, H L, et al, FASEB Journal, Meeting Abstracts, Mar 1999, #204.1, p A222.
41. Kabara, J J, The Pharmacological Effects of Lipids, The American Oil Chemists Society, Champaign, IL, 1978, 1-14; Cohen, L A, et al, J Natl Cancer Inst, 1986, 77:43
42. Garg, M L, et al, FASEB Journal, 1988, 2:4:A852; Oliart Ros, R M, et al, "Meeting Abstracts," AOCS Proceedings, May 1998, 7, Chicago, I
43. Lawson, L D and F Kummerow, Lipids, 1979, 14:501-503; Garg, M L, Lipids, Apr 1989, 24(4):334-9
44. Ravnskov, U, J Clin Epidemiol, Jun 1998, 51:(6):443-460. See also http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-25775/
45. Felton, C V, et al, Lancet, 1994, 344:1195
46. http://www.mountaindogdiet.com/nutrition_fats_oils.php
One thing we talked about in my agricultural marketing class was the use of flax seeds to increase Omega 3 fat content. If I recall correctly, flax seeds are put into chicken feed in order to create Omega 3 eggs. Maybe this would be a cheaper way to increase Omega 3 content in beef...?
ReplyDeleteThat's an idea. My main "beef" with...well, BEEF is that cows aren't meant to eat grains. When they do, it triggers all kinds of problems in the cows which creates the necessity to give the cows antibiotics by the droves. I definitely don't want to eat something that has been pumped full of antibiotics :(
ReplyDeleteThe imbalance between saturated and unsaturated fats is the only HYPOTHESIZED reason for fat having anything to do with heart disease. The TWO researches utilized to coin fat as a "killer" back in the 60's could not directly correlate a high fat diet with heart disease. To think that the whole "low fat" craze stems from two inconclusive research efforts is absolutely ludicrous! We just can't make this stuff up!
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