Oh how gratifying it is to write about something a few days before seeing it covered in the New York Times. This post on the TierneyLab NYT science blog addresses new research on the failure of the theory about the evil of saturated fat to be demonstrated positively in actual life, including generations of people proving it wrong. I encourage following the links in the article that prove my prediction that the Weston Price Foundation will have its day and whole foods are ultimately the way to go.
Why does the A.H.A. continue to insist that saturated fat should be avoided, if these trials repeatedly show that high saturated fat diets lead to better cholesterol profiles than low-saturated fat diets? And how many of these trials have to be done before the National Institutes of Health or some other august institution in this business re-assesses this question? After all, the reason the food guide pyramid suggests we eat things like butter and lard and meats sparingly (and puts them high up in the pyramid) is that they contain saturated fat. This is also the reason that the A.H.A. wants to lower even further what’s considered the safe limit for saturated fats in the diet.
Is Mr. Taubes right? If eating more saturated fat improved the dieters’ cholesterol profile (while also enabling them to lose weight even though their calories were not restricted), should the federal government and the American Heart Association stop warning people about saturated fats?
Hm, Eat whole foods and eat less. Sounds familiar. I nominate Michael Pollan for head of the FDA.
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It was so great to see the Gary Taubes comments published in the NYT blogs! Even more amazing than Tierney Lab highlighting it, Tara Parker-Pope in her NYT blog Well also linked to the interview – and she managed not to say a single negative thing about Gary Taubes or high fat consumption in the process! In the past she’s always come out swinging against saturated fat and low-carb diets, so this was a refreshing bit of neutrality.
One thing about Michael Pollan, my impression is that he’s not necessarily in favor of saturated fat intake. He seems to be more about reducing intake of animal products and decreasing intake of processed foods. I agree about the processed foods, and I agree about unsustainably produced animal products, but I think sustainably produced animal products, including good saturated fats, are critical to our health.
Debs
Food Is Love
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