I am sure that you have heard all those government warnings, issued to us “for our own good,” telling us that saturated fat should not be contained within a diet and it is really bad for us, but on the contrary we should view it as being highly beneficial. They tell us how saturated fat will inevitably lead to high cholesterol and heart disease due to clogged arteries and because we know that heart disease is the leading cause of mortality, this is enough to send us running away from this product. As it has become trendier to deplore the use of saturated fats, supposedly healthy alternatives have been trumpeted by those advisers. This despite the fact that as a race, humans have been eating diets high in saturated fat for millions of years. Could it be that our evolution in more recent times has led to a significant change in the way that we handle these saturated fats, causing all the negativity that we hear about, or is it that we’re just being fed a diet of basic misinformation? The latter seems more appropriate.
Consider the benefits of eating saturated fat in your diet:
Fat is a very important source of fuel, essential for our daily energy needs. Almost half of the fat in our body is composed of saturated fat and is what ancestors used to survive in difficult times, as it is fairly easily stored within our bodies. Due to the difference in composition between saturated fats and unsaturated fats, cooking can be hazardous to your health unless you are adequately educated about the risks. Understand that polyunsaturated fats can become unstable when heated, creating the formation of free radicals that are known to be damaging to our cellular structure. A reliance on polyunsaturated fat can lead to heart disease itself, despite the option being touted as good for our hearts. Conversely, monounsaturated fats, whenever ingested in more than small doses, have been shown to lead to premature aging and certain cancers, while coco and corn oil, other unsaturated fat alternatives, do not have the required numbers of essential Omega-3 fatty acids, either.
For good bone development and structure, saturated fat has a good concentration of calcium and as such, is essential. Vitamin D and K2, essential for healthy development, are readily obtainable from saturated fats. Just consider what saturated fat can do for your skin. We are at increasing risk of developing skin cancer and premature aging damage caused by the effects of the sun, while saturated fat has been shown to make skin cells much more resistant to this damage.
Saturated fat has been linked to essential stabilization and signaling activities within our bodies, the production of hormones, “padding” around the essential organs such as the heart and even the quality and function of our lung capacity. Some research has shown that trans fats can compromise lung function and lead to asthma.
We have heard much about essential fatty acids and how important they are to our health. They must be consumed through diet and cannot be produced by the body. The proliferation of saturated fats helps to protect essential fatty acids from oxidation and ensures that they are used for optimal effect.
