Facts on Saturated Fats – What Medical Science Says in 2022
Commentary updated May 2024 as the World Health Organization (WHO) convenes its First meeting of the WHO Expert Group to develop a guideline on consumption of tropical oils. WHO
WHO guidelines are developed in ways consistent with internationally recognized best practices, emphasizing the appropriate use of systematically reviewed available evidence.
The WHO urgently needs to update its position on saturated fats. We called out their inconsistency as the WHO blundered through the COVID19 crisis.
Palm oil, coconut oil and ghee are some of the most popular cooking oils in the tropics. All three tropical oils have been said to contain "unhealthy" levels of saturated fats.
Will the Expert Group consider the findings of David Ian Givens in his report on Saturated Fats and Cardiovascular health?
WHO guidelines are developed in ways consistent with internationally recognized best practices, emphasizing the appropriate use of systematically reviewed available evidence.
The WHO urgently needs to update its position on saturated fats. We called out their inconsistency as the WHO blundered through the COVID19 crisis.
Palm oil, coconut oil and ghee are some of the most popular cooking oils in the tropics. All three tropical oils have been said to contain "unhealthy" levels of saturated fats.
Will the Expert Group consider the findings of David Ian Givens in his report on Saturated Fats and Cardiovascular health?
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Commentary updated February 2023 as the WHO calls for total elimination of trans fats
- Are saturated fats bad for me?
- Is it OK to eat saturated fats?
- Are saturated fats high in cholesterol?
- Does saturated fats cause Chronic Heart Disease and Vascular Disease?
Saturated fats. Love it. Limit it. Lose it.
Consumers looking for answers to these questions on the internet will end up becoming more confused than educated.
The American Heart Association on saturated fats lists some common popular foods including beef, pork and chicken that are bad for health due to saturated fat. MyFooddata has more information on what foods contain the highest levels of saturated fats. Whipped cream followed by dried coconut tops the list for foods with high saturated fats but no one eats those on a daily basis. What we do eat on a daily basis, in considerable amounts, are dairy products in milk, cheese and processed foods which would make a slice of pizza really bad for health.
According to this 2014 report from BBC, its not how much pizza you eat but how the pizza is made. A CNN report on pizza goes into greater details on when pizza is healthy and when it is not. What is consistent between the two reports is that cheese with all its saturated fats, is an essential food for healthy diets. Pepperoni on the other hand, was reported to be bad for human health due to its high processing.
Based on these reports, a freshly made pizza that uses whole wheat instead of refined flour, which skips the pepperoni and double cheese would be healthy.
Experts from different backgrounds in Europe disagree. There is a huge food fight going on in Europe, involving Front of Pack labels between the French-backed Nutriscore vs the Italian backed Nutrinform. Spanish experts have also weighed into the arguments to defend food items in their traditional diet, notably olive oil, cheese and cured meats. Even French cheese producers have condemned Nutri-Score for what they see as an attack on a traditional food.
Nutrinform appears to have made its point as The Italian Competition Authority, AGCM, announced on Thursday 4 August that Nutri-Score can not be used in Italy without some warnings for consumers, and obliged Carrefour and other distributors using the French nutrition label to withdraw Nutri-Score labelling on its products sold in Italy.
The Italian government further plans to launch an app to support its use as an emphatic opposition to Nutriscore.
While the Front of Pack nutritional information arguments look towards the Mediterranean diet as proof of or proof against, this report by the National Library of Medicine suggests that overall lifestyle is more important to human health than singular foods.
But what about oils and fats that not part of the traditional Mediterranean diet?
Tropical vegetable oils like coconut and palm oil are not prevalent in European diets. The uproar over Front of Pack labels does raise the question of how saturated fats like those found in coconut and palm oil affects human health.
The contradictions between reports on health benefits of coconut oil with its high saturated fat content against the negative rap of its saturated fats is certainly confusing to the average consumer. How many of us can grasp the difference between long chain fatty acids and medium chain fatty acids? Are saturated fats with medium chain fatty acids like coconut oil better for health than saturated fats from dairy?
What does modern science say?
Science today says that saturated fats are an essential part of a healthy diet. Adding saturated fats like cheese, to your meal will satisfy hunger with smaller portions compared to meals that include large amounts of carbohydrates and limited saturated fats.
There is no question that obesity leads to all the health problems that is being blamed on dietary fat intakes. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association for example, recommends a low fat diet in saying:
Obesity also leads to the development of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease mortality independently of other cardiovascular risk factors.
This led to the popularity of the keto diet where eating fats in every meal became popular with popular looking to lose weight fast. “Experts” weighed in.
The University of Chicago Medicine called it a quick way to lose weight which could cause low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies and an increased risk of heart disease. Strict diets like keto could also cause social isolation or disordered eating. Keto is not safe for those with any conditions involving their pancreas, liver, thyroid or gallbladder.
Harvard Medical School warned against the weight-loss wonder, but this eating plan is actually a medical diet that comes with serious risks.
These arguments against fat consumption maybe questioned against the 2021 report from the American Heart Association Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update Fact Sheet where the mean healthy diet score for adults.
“were largely attributable to increased consumption of whole grains and nuts, seeds, and legumes and decreased consumption of SSBs. No significant changes were observed for consumption of total fruits and vegetables, fish and shellfish, sodium, processed meat, and saturated fat.”
The statistics support the findings of the PURE study Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study which stated that:
"High carbohydrate intake was associated with higher risk of total mortality, whereas total fat and individual types of fat were related to lower total mortality"
The arguments were best summed up by researcher Zoe Harcombe who asked in TheBMJ, Could we agree to demonize processed food, not saturated fat?
Yet another report has called for a reassessment and proposal for food-based recommendations on Saturated Fats and Health:
Also, systematic studies find no significant association between saturated fat intake and coronary artery disease or mortality, and some even suggested a lower risk of stroke with higher consumption of saturated fat (14).
In the context of contemporary diets, therefore, these observations would suggest there is little need to further limit the intakes of total or saturated fat for most populations (14).
Unfortunately, the recommendations from the USDA to limit intake of saturated fats and increase carbohydrate intakes has led to an obesity epidemic in the US according to Professor Dr. David Diamond from the University of South Florida.
Dr. Diamond is a renowned expert on nutrition and how it relates to human health. He traced the source of obesity in the US to the USDA’s dietary recommendations that carbohydrates should form the bulk of daily food intake. He has challenged the old science with new science like “A Rigorous Assessment of the Myth That Consumption of Saturated Fat Increases Risk of Coronary Heart Disease” which can be downloaded here.
For more information on his work, watch Dr. David Diamond - 'Should You Be Concerned About High LDL-Cholesterol on a Low Carb Diet?'
These new scientific findings will hopefully be reflected in dietary guidelines and Front of Pack labels. The decisions behind Canada’s Front of Package labels, where cheese and meat (in single ingredient form) are exempted from FOP labeling requirements, seem to be better informed after industries argued successfully against bad science.
The Dairy Processors Association of Canada presented on saturated fats, that several meta-analyses commissioned by organizations like the World Health Organization suggests that the consumption of saturated fat does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes.
The Canadian Cattle Association also successfully argued that ground beef and pork, are highly nutritious sources of protein and nutrients even if ground meats contain saturated fat.
The American Heart Association on saturated fats lists some common popular foods including beef, pork and chicken that are bad for health due to saturated fat. MyFooddata has more information on what foods contain the highest levels of saturated fats. Whipped cream followed by dried coconut tops the list for foods with high saturated fats but no one eats those on a daily basis. What we do eat on a daily basis, in considerable amounts, are dairy products in milk, cheese and processed foods which would make a slice of pizza really bad for health.
According to this 2014 report from BBC, its not how much pizza you eat but how the pizza is made. A CNN report on pizza goes into greater details on when pizza is healthy and when it is not. What is consistent between the two reports is that cheese with all its saturated fats, is an essential food for healthy diets. Pepperoni on the other hand, was reported to be bad for human health due to its high processing.
Based on these reports, a freshly made pizza that uses whole wheat instead of refined flour, which skips the pepperoni and double cheese would be healthy.
Experts from different backgrounds in Europe disagree. There is a huge food fight going on in Europe, involving Front of Pack labels between the French-backed Nutriscore vs the Italian backed Nutrinform. Spanish experts have also weighed into the arguments to defend food items in their traditional diet, notably olive oil, cheese and cured meats. Even French cheese producers have condemned Nutri-Score for what they see as an attack on a traditional food.
Nutrinform appears to have made its point as The Italian Competition Authority, AGCM, announced on Thursday 4 August that Nutri-Score can not be used in Italy without some warnings for consumers, and obliged Carrefour and other distributors using the French nutrition label to withdraw Nutri-Score labelling on its products sold in Italy.
The Italian government further plans to launch an app to support its use as an emphatic opposition to Nutriscore.
While the Front of Pack nutritional information arguments look towards the Mediterranean diet as proof of or proof against, this report by the National Library of Medicine suggests that overall lifestyle is more important to human health than singular foods.
But what about oils and fats that not part of the traditional Mediterranean diet?
Tropical vegetable oils like coconut and palm oil are not prevalent in European diets. The uproar over Front of Pack labels does raise the question of how saturated fats like those found in coconut and palm oil affects human health.
The contradictions between reports on health benefits of coconut oil with its high saturated fat content against the negative rap of its saturated fats is certainly confusing to the average consumer. How many of us can grasp the difference between long chain fatty acids and medium chain fatty acids? Are saturated fats with medium chain fatty acids like coconut oil better for health than saturated fats from dairy?
What does modern science say?
Science today says that saturated fats are an essential part of a healthy diet. Adding saturated fats like cheese, to your meal will satisfy hunger with smaller portions compared to meals that include large amounts of carbohydrates and limited saturated fats.
There is no question that obesity leads to all the health problems that is being blamed on dietary fat intakes. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association for example, recommends a low fat diet in saying:
Obesity also leads to the development of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease mortality independently of other cardiovascular risk factors.
This led to the popularity of the keto diet where eating fats in every meal became popular with popular looking to lose weight fast. “Experts” weighed in.
The University of Chicago Medicine called it a quick way to lose weight which could cause low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies and an increased risk of heart disease. Strict diets like keto could also cause social isolation or disordered eating. Keto is not safe for those with any conditions involving their pancreas, liver, thyroid or gallbladder.
Harvard Medical School warned against the weight-loss wonder, but this eating plan is actually a medical diet that comes with serious risks.
These arguments against fat consumption maybe questioned against the 2021 report from the American Heart Association Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update Fact Sheet where the mean healthy diet score for adults.
“were largely attributable to increased consumption of whole grains and nuts, seeds, and legumes and decreased consumption of SSBs. No significant changes were observed for consumption of total fruits and vegetables, fish and shellfish, sodium, processed meat, and saturated fat.”
The statistics support the findings of the PURE study Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study which stated that:
"High carbohydrate intake was associated with higher risk of total mortality, whereas total fat and individual types of fat were related to lower total mortality"
The arguments were best summed up by researcher Zoe Harcombe who asked in TheBMJ, Could we agree to demonize processed food, not saturated fat?
Yet another report has called for a reassessment and proposal for food-based recommendations on Saturated Fats and Health:
Also, systematic studies find no significant association between saturated fat intake and coronary artery disease or mortality, and some even suggested a lower risk of stroke with higher consumption of saturated fat (14).
In the context of contemporary diets, therefore, these observations would suggest there is little need to further limit the intakes of total or saturated fat for most populations (14).
Unfortunately, the recommendations from the USDA to limit intake of saturated fats and increase carbohydrate intakes has led to an obesity epidemic in the US according to Professor Dr. David Diamond from the University of South Florida.
Dr. Diamond is a renowned expert on nutrition and how it relates to human health. He traced the source of obesity in the US to the USDA’s dietary recommendations that carbohydrates should form the bulk of daily food intake. He has challenged the old science with new science like “A Rigorous Assessment of the Myth That Consumption of Saturated Fat Increases Risk of Coronary Heart Disease” which can be downloaded here.
For more information on his work, watch Dr. David Diamond - 'Should You Be Concerned About High LDL-Cholesterol on a Low Carb Diet?'
These new scientific findings will hopefully be reflected in dietary guidelines and Front of Pack labels. The decisions behind Canada’s Front of Package labels, where cheese and meat (in single ingredient form) are exempted from FOP labeling requirements, seem to be better informed after industries argued successfully against bad science.
The Dairy Processors Association of Canada presented on saturated fats, that several meta-analyses commissioned by organizations like the World Health Organization suggests that the consumption of saturated fat does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes.
The Canadian Cattle Association also successfully argued that ground beef and pork, are highly nutritious sources of protein and nutrients even if ground meats contain saturated fat.
UPDATE: February 09, 2023. "The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for the total elimination of industrial trans fatty acids (TFAs), saying it is responsible for half a million premature deaths each year, VOA News reports.
According to WHO data, 5bn people were being exposed to industrial TFAs, which are commonly found in packaged foods, baked goods, cooking oils and spreads, increasing their risk of heart disease and death, the 23 January report said.
TFAs occur naturally in animal fats but the health concerns relate to industrial trans fats formed by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils to increase their stability and shelf life."
Avoiding trans fats in our modern diets will be difficult for most consumers as this report from EWG shows.
But avoiding unhealthy vegetable oils maybe more difficult for the average consumer where popular oils like corn, canola and soy are found in many foods. According to Dr. Eric Berg, a well known expert on health issues, seed oils like these, represent a food that is more deadly than sugar. Watch his report on seed oils.
Dr Berg's warning against consuming seed oils is supported by a report from Dr. Pradip Jamnadas, the founder and medical director of Cardiovascular Interventions who has practiced in Central Florida for over 31 years. Widely recognized for his skill in interventional cardiology Dr. Jamnadas has been awarded Orlando Top Doctor by Orlando Magazine consecutively for over a decade. This is what Dr Jamnadas has to say about seed oils and the move from saturated fats by Indian consumers, to seed oils.
According to WHO data, 5bn people were being exposed to industrial TFAs, which are commonly found in packaged foods, baked goods, cooking oils and spreads, increasing their risk of heart disease and death, the 23 January report said.
TFAs occur naturally in animal fats but the health concerns relate to industrial trans fats formed by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils to increase their stability and shelf life."
Avoiding trans fats in our modern diets will be difficult for most consumers as this report from EWG shows.
But avoiding unhealthy vegetable oils maybe more difficult for the average consumer where popular oils like corn, canola and soy are found in many foods. According to Dr. Eric Berg, a well known expert on health issues, seed oils like these, represent a food that is more deadly than sugar. Watch his report on seed oils.
Dr Berg's warning against consuming seed oils is supported by a report from Dr. Pradip Jamnadas, the founder and medical director of Cardiovascular Interventions who has practiced in Central Florida for over 31 years. Widely recognized for his skill in interventional cardiology Dr. Jamnadas has been awarded Orlando Top Doctor by Orlando Magazine consecutively for over a decade. This is what Dr Jamnadas has to say about seed oils and the move from saturated fats by Indian consumers, to seed oils.
September 05, 2022. New study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology- Saturated fat: villain and bogeyman in the development of cardiovascular disease?
Collectively, neither observational studies, prospective epidemiologic cohort studies, RCTs, systematic reviews and meta analyses have conclusively established a significant association between SFA in the diet and subsequent cardiovascular risk and CAD, MI or mortality nor a benefit of reducing dietary SFAs on CVD rick, events and mortality. Beneficial effects of replacement of SFA by polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat or carbohydrates remain elusive. AcademicOUP
What are your thoughts on saturated fats in the groceries you buy? Leave a comment below and let us know where you’re writing from.
Collectively, neither observational studies, prospective epidemiologic cohort studies, RCTs, systematic reviews and meta analyses have conclusively established a significant association between SFA in the diet and subsequent cardiovascular risk and CAD, MI or mortality nor a benefit of reducing dietary SFAs on CVD rick, events and mortality. Beneficial effects of replacement of SFA by polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat or carbohydrates remain elusive. AcademicOUP
What are your thoughts on saturated fats in the groceries you buy? Leave a comment below and let us know where you’re writing from.
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Published August 2022. CSPO Watch