Saturated Fat May Not Be So Bad After All…

Posted By elissa on Sep 11, 2009 | 1 comment

Interesting blog post by Monica Reinagel, over at NutritionData.com:

Saturated fat and red meat seem to prevent expanding waistlines

Danish researchers studied the links between consumption of various food groups and change in waist size.  Why are they worried about waist size? An increase in waist size signals an increase in visceral, or abdominal, fat. This is considered the most dangerous pattern of weight gain because abdominal fat is strongly linked to increased risk of heart disease, cancer, insulin resistance, and diabetes.  In fact, the association is so strong that a waist measurement of more than 35″  (for women) or 40″ (for men) is an independent risk factor for heart disease.

Surprisingly (to some), they found that women who ate more butter and high fat dairy products gained less weight around the waist than those whose diets are lower in saturated fat. A similar association was observed with red meat–that is, those who ate more red meat had smaller waistlines. The researchers seem to be at a loss to explain these findings.

Actually, the paper points out that…

For women, 5-year difference in waist circumference was inversely related to intake from red meat, vegetables, fruit, butter, and high-fat dairy products, whereas intake from potatoes, processed meat, poultry, and snack foods was positively associated. For men, red meat and fruit intakes were inversely associated with 5-year difference in waist circumference, whereas snack foods intake was positively associated.

So it may not be saturated fat per se that’s problematic, as the quality of the overall diet.  Saturated fat intake in the context of a balanced diet rich in nutrient-dense whole foods may not be so bad, after all.

For the record, I’ve never been a real stickler about avoiding saturated fat-containing foods, either.  Although I eat lean meat/skinless poultry and avoid butter, I loooove cheese (including full fat cottage cheese) and consume whole eggs virtually every day.  I also use a dab of coconut oil here and there for cooking.  Yet my blood lipid levels are excellent.  Of course, I try to make sure I get a balance of fats, too, with polyunsaturates from fish oil/grapeseed oil + monounsaturates from foods like nuts, olive oil and avocadoes.

So I’m with Monica when she writes:

…it seems that plain overconsumption of food in general is a bigger problem.  The fact that so much of that food is over-processed and nutrient-poor sure doesn’t help.

If you’re eating a calorically-appropriate diet made up mostly of whole foods, I’m prepared to be pretty darned flexible about the details.

It’s sound advice, and certainly tracks with my personal experience. 😉