Can Saturated Fat Be Considered Healthy? The answer is unequivocally yes.
However, for over 50 years, saturated fat has been unfairly vilified as the most harmful nutrient on the planet. Many people believe it leads to blocked arteries, but this is a fallacy that has persisted due to decades of misinformation.
The truth is that saturated fat is a crucial component of the healthiest and most nutrient-rich foods available, such as red meat, eggs, and full-fat dairy. It also plays a vital and supportive role in several vital bodily functions.
Fortunately, modern scientific research is correcting the misconceptions surrounding saturated fat.
Quick Facts
Saturated Fatty Acids (SFAs) constitute 50% of the cell membrane structures in our bodies. They aid in calcium absorption and facilitate the synthesis of essential fatty acids. Moreover, they provide a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Contrary to popular belief, consuming saturated fats in our diet does not directly translate to saturated fats in our blood. Instead, the levels of saturated fat in our blood are influenced by the prevalence of carbohydrates in our diet and the resulting carb-generated lipogenesis process.
Did you know that 60% of our brain is made up of fat? Half of this fat is saturated, which is crucial for cognitive function. Saturated fats are also essential building blocks for many key hormones.
Furthermore, consuming a low-carb high-fat diet can lead to an increase in LDL particle size, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. Studies have also shown that Stearic Acid, one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in meat, can improve body fat, mitochondrial function, and promote weight loss. Additionally, it has been found to slightly lower or have a neutral effect on LDL (bad) cholesterol and shows no evidence of raising the risk of heart disease.
What is Saturated Fat?
Before delving into the health benefits of saturated fat, it’s important to provide a brief definition of this term. Saturated fat refers to a particular class of fatty acid molecule that consists of carbon and hydrogen atoms. A fat is classified as saturated when most or all of the carbon-hydrogen bonds are single bonds, and all available carbon bonds are paired with hydrogen atoms.
The stable nature of these bonds provides protection against oxidation and rancidity. This stability is the reason why our bodies use saturated fats to construct robust cellular membranes.
The fact that 54% of the fat in human breast milk is saturated fat serves as a strong indication of its critical health benefits. This leads us to explore the beneficial roles that saturated fat plays in the body.
Excellent Source of Energy
Saturated fat is an excellent source of energy, and humans have evolved to thrive on it. Evidence of this can be seen in the way our bodies store excess carbohydrates and calories as saturated fat, which can be metabolized for energy through calorie restriction and exercise. The human body can easily convert SFAs to ketones, providing a superior energy source for most of the cells in our bodies, even when not in a starvation state. Modern humans, whose bodies are nearly identical to those of our ancestors, have adapted to consuming and mobilizing fat stores for energy.
In the context of human dietary evolution, the scavenging of fatty bone meats and brains leftover from the kills of other predators fueled our rapid brain development, which separates us from our primate ancestors. Our ability to prioritize fat as a primary fuel source is what essentially makes us human. Vilifying saturated fat is a highly suspicious view of the human body and human evolution. It would make no sense for our bodies to have developed a taste, storage system, and metabolism that efficiently uses saturated fat if it were harmful to us.
Improves Cardiovascular Health
Research has shown that consuming saturated fat as part of a low-carb high-fat diet can actually promote cardiovascular health. [5]
Lower levels of Lp(a) are generally considered beneficial because it is responsible for carrying oxidized phospholipids in our blood plasma. When oxidized, lipids can accumulate in our arterial walls and lead to the development of atherosclerotic lesions.
By consuming saturated fat, the levels of lipoprotein (a) in the bloodstream can be reduced while “good” HDL cholesterol levels are increased. This has an overall effect of improving heart disease risk factors.
Supports Numerous Bodily Functions
Protects the Liver Studies have shown that saturated fats can protect the liver from the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs. In addition, a low-carb diet rich in SFAs has been found to alleviate fatty liver disease.
Supports Healthy Lungs Saturated palmitic acid, a phospholipid fat, helps keep the surface of the lungs supple and shields them from irritants.
Supports Healthy Cell and Brain Function Saturated fatty acids are a major component of our cell membranes. They make up more than 80 percent of the phospholipids in certain areas of the human brain, and over half of the fatty acids in cell membranes are SFAs.
Myristic acid, a saturated fatty acid present in milk products, is essential for various cellular signaling pathways.
Supports Infant Development Human breast milk is composed of approximately 50% fat, with 54% of that being saturated fat. This fat is vital for the rapidly growing infant brain, allowing the protein to be utilized for developing and building the body. Children who are placed on low-fat diets can develop growth and other health issues.
According to a study published in Pediatric Pathology & Molecular Medicine, “evidence supports the view that intervening in childhood (2-15 years) with low-fat, low-cholesterol diets, or even worse, lipid-lowering drugs to prevent atherosclerotic plaques in adulthood is wasted effort. Overzealous parents may unwittingly induce malnutrition in their children, and many children with restricted access to palatable foods will yearn for them even more as they become older, leading to overweightness.”
Supports Intake of Fat-Soluble Vitamins Saturated fats in various animal foods carry fat-soluble vitamins A and D into the body in forms that are more easily absorbed and utilized. In countries where the intake of animal foods, such as eggs and butter, is low, vitamin A deficiencies are a concern.
The pioneering dentist and dietary researcher Weston A. Price observed that traditional diets, rich in saturated fat and vitamins A, D, and K, were associated with remarkable dental health and a very low incidence of modern diseases.
Healthy Cooking Oil
Saturated fats possess molecular stability due to their saturated bonds, making them resistant to rancidity and oxidation even under high heat exposure. For instance, ghee, which contains approximately 70% saturated fat, has a smoke point of 485°F (250°C), significantly higher than the 350°F (175°C) smoke point of butter.
Moreover, heating ghee produces significantly lower levels of the toxic compound acrylamide than vegetable and seed oils that are high in PUFAs. According to a study, soybean oil produced over 1000% more acrylamide than ghee when both were heated to a mere 320°F (160°C).
The New Discoveries on Saturated Fats
According to various studies, the consumption of saturated fat by the average person is not significantly linked to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and death from heart attack. Additionally, the intake of saturated fat found in unprocessed red meat does not have an association with CVD [19]. Foods that are rich in saturated fat, such as whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate, have a complex matrix of nutrients and are not linked to an increased risk of CVD. As such, “the totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods.”. However, it is worth noting that while total saturated fat intake is not related to the incidence of heart disease, substituting animal protein for animal fat could increase the risk of heart disease.