Have you been told not to eat saturated (animal) fat, or that you should reduce how much saturated fat you eat? That saturated fats are bad for you? We’ve all been told not to eat animal fat. This is something that has been passed down for decades, but why? What is the danger to us? Where did this information come from?

The American College of Cardiology provides information for practicing medical practitioners and then the American Heart Association translates that information to the public so we can understand it. This has been happening for the last 50-60 years. Their core belief has been that a plant based diet is what is best for humans. However, there are Randomized Controlled Trial studies, the “gold standard” in scientific research, that disprove that theory. There is also anecdotal evidence that shows that to be untrue and is subsequently supported by the generational downward spiral of our health . Because of that belief, that a plant based diet is more healthy than an animal based diet, research showing that polyunsaturated plant oils are not healthy and saturated animal fat is, has been suppressed or just not published. The studies I am citing here show that people who eat diets high in polyunsaturated fats (fats from plant seed oils, most commonly; soybean, corn, canola, cottonseed, rapeseed, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, and rice bran) do worse. Those vegetable fats cause harm. They unfortunately suffer more heart attacks, acquire more cancer, get sicker quicker and more often, and they die sooner. In fact, the studies show that animal meat and fat is healthy, that humans need saturated fat, and foods high in cholesterol, like eggs, red meat, full fat dairy, do not correlate to elevated cholesterol levels. Actually, high cholesterol levels are markers of good health. (https://cholesterolcode.com/) There is no amount of saturated fats that is considered dangerous. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109720356874)

In a randomized controlled trial, lasting 2 years, studying thousands of people, titled “Corn Oil in Treatment of Ischaemic Heart Disease” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2166702/pdf/brmedj02398-0041.pdf), found that when you replace the animal saturated fats such as the fat in egg yolks, butter, fatty meats, and full-fat dairy with margarine and corn oil, people have more heart attacks, a higher rate of cancer, and they died sooner. This study showed without a doubt that corn oil is much more dangerous than the saturated fatty acids in animal fats.

Subsequently, in 1966 another study lasting 8 years, researching the effects of vegetable seed oil, titled, “Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death” (https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e8707), found similar outcomes of increased heart disease, heart attacks, and specifically an increase in the build up of plaque in the arteries.

A third randomized controlled study of humans, “Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: analysis of recovered data from Minnesota Coronary Experiment” (https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/353/bmj.i1246.full.pdf) conducted in 1968, was a 5 year long study. They also found that replacing animal fats with vegetable seed oils, increased the occurrence of heart attack and plaque buildup.

Even with these conclusive studies, spanning a total of 15 years, the FDA didn’t ban margarine until 2018, and the seed oils that were specifically used in the above referenced studies are in everything (packaged food) we buy today! The successive studies done on nutrition for the last 30 years have been based on observational research broadly conducted by Dr. Walter Willett (he has advocated for a vegetarian diet, including little-to-no red meat consumption, since 1990/1991, he has also authored books and written monthly columns regarding vegetarianism and veganism) he had been a Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard and the chairman of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Therefore he based his findings on participants answering questionnaires and his observation of those patterns. Not the “gold standard” studies that had been completed before and during his tenure, 1991 to 2017

What should we eat? Butter is full of vitamins, healthy fatty acids, and minerals. Fatty ground beef (70/30) is full of amino acids, fatty acids, and are also full of vitamins and minerals that are not available in any plant. Pastured Bacon, full of fat and protein, is also rich in fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. The honest research shows that eating animal meat and fat is what is most healthy for human beings. “Saturated Fats and Health: A Reassessment and Proposal for Food-Based Recommendations: JACC State-of-the-Art Review” (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109720356874)