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You’d be surprised, but scientists for a long time have doubts about the harmful effects of saturated fat on the heart and its relevance to diabetes and cancer.
Bad reputation was assign to saturated fat about 100 years ago, when scientists after feeding rabbit with high cholesterol food noticed blockage of blood vessels with cholesterol plaques. These facts were confirmed in 50th years in long-term study; scientists found that eating saturated fat is associated with the risk of developing heart disease. These charges are based on the belief that saturated fats found in meat, eggs, dairy products, coconut and palm oil, raise cholesterol levels, which “pollutes” the blood vessels. After that, the popularity of meatless diets and low-fat products began to grow at an incredible rate, and millions of people refuse fatty foods in the hope to improve their health. But is fat mostly “criminal” or we were confused by commercial research, which is now based on the multi-billion dollar industry of dietary supplements and special products?
Saturated fats are essential for our body!
Fatty acids play an important role in metabolic processes; they are indispensable components of cell membranes, are responsible for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and contain essential n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
In reality, there is not much evidence of the harmful effects of saturated fat. Moreover, recent studies prove otherwise. Statistical data of some modern experiments show that eating saturated fat has no appreciable adverse effect on the cardiovascular system, either before or after the correction of cholesterol in the blood serum of patients. Moreover, a remarkable study in which scientists recorded the average volume of consumption of saturated fat in 41 European countries and the death rate from heart disease by age group revealed something particularly interesting:
More saturated fat – less heart disease, less fat – more diseases!
The more saturated fat was consumed by studied, the lower risks of developing heart disease were noticed. For example, in France, where especially is high usage of fats (15.5% of total diet), the incidence of heart disease was the lowest in Europe, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they eat very little fat (less than 4% of the diet), the level of heart disease is the highest. It should be noted that these results cannot guarantee that saturated fats protect against heart disease, but in any case this information is depriving the generally accepted theory of the former conviction. Agree, it is difficult to consider saturated fats main culprits ailments when Europeans who eat so much fat, are healthier than others.
So who is the main “villain”?
A comprehensive analysis of the results of research in saturated fats, carbohydrates and heart disease held in 2011, led to the conclusion that the problems are caused by the accumulation of saturated fat in the body lipids, not in the usage of saturated fats in the food itself. For example, in one experiment, two groups of volunteers with metabolic syndrome take either low carbohydrate foods rich in saturated fat or high carbohydrate foods low in saturated fat. Low-carb diet rich in saturated fat less increases the concentration of saturated fat in the blood plasma lipids, in contrast to the high-carbohydrate diet low in saturated fats. Furthermore, analysis of the experimental results showed that the substitution of saturated fats with carbohydrates with a high glycemic index is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction by 33%.
Conclusion
Meatless diets -is not the best way to normalize body weight and health. Fats are an essential part of the diet, and the latest scientific evidence suggests that the presence in our diet to 15% fat does not cause any risk to heart health, and on the contrary, it can help to its strengthen. Low-fat products, stuffed with artificial sugars and sweeteners, can be much more harmful, and many of us who adhere to meatless diet, often replace fats with such carbohydrates. The consequences are – an increased risk of heart disease and other diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Whether is necessary to repeat once again that taking too much fatty food is bad? But if you regularly consume products rich in simple carbohydrates and trans fats, then eat more fish, red meat, vegetables and fruits. This will help to maintain the body and particularly the heart healthy.
Tags: Saturated fats, Vitamins
This entry was posted
on Sunday, April 19th, 2015 at 9:02 pm and is filed under HEALTH PUBLICATIONS, NUTRITION.
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