Is saturated fat bad for you? The answer is unclear. The good news is, just like protein requirements, this is another debate you can leave to the academics while you focus on some things we can all agree on.
Saturated Fat Has Not Been Proven To Be Bad
Two large meta analyses have shown that saturated fat is not convincingly linked to heart disease or early death. But they did not go so far as to say that it is harmless.1 2That is because, as with many nutritional questions, we just don’t know for sure how individual pieces affect the whole picture.
A Healthy Diet Automatically Reduces Saturated Fat
There are some things that we do all seem to agree on. We know that simple, whole foods like fruits and vegetables, plain nuts, and lean meats prepared at home make up a healthy eating pattern. If we compare that kind of diet with one consisting of processed and/or fast foods, we find that saturated fat is automatically lowered when following the healthy plan.
Two Eating Patterns Compared
The nutrition facts below represent approximately 14g (1 tablespoon) for easy comparison. They are not serving sizes.
The Takeaway
As you can see, having a healthy eating pattern automatically lowers saturated fat intake. So if you concentrate on eating well you don’t need to worry about absolute certainty regarding saturated fat.
If you are looking for ways to make it easier to increase the quality food in your life, try investigating farmers’ markets or CSAs in your area. The beauty of doing your shopping that way is that it exposes you to higher quality, healthier choices by default, which makes your life that much easier!
Related
References
- Meta Analysis Of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating The Association Of Saturated Fat With Cardiovascular Disease
- Intake of saturated and trans unsaturated fatty acids and risk of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies