| Title | Fat is Good For You | |
| Date | Friday August 22 2014, @09:48PM | |
| Author | n1 | |
| Topic | ||
| from the more-butter dept. | ||
For decades, butter has been the most vilified nutrient in the American diet but Time Magazine's cover story says that new science reveals that fat isn’t what’s hurting our health (paywalled). According to Time, scientists were wrong to label saturated fats the enemy — that carbs, sugar and processed foods are mainly to blame for obesity, diabetes and other weight-related diseases, according to a growing body of research and that Americans should reconsider the role saturated fats play in our diets.
Some of the confusion comes from the decades-long war on trans fats, the artificially produced artery-clogging ingredient found in baked goods and desserts. Science has shown that trans fats are harmful because they increase risk of heart disease because they both raise level of bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of good cholesterol (HDL). Last year, the Food and Drug Administration said it would require food makers to phase out trans fats. "I do agree butter, along with other saturated fats like poultry skin, coconut oil, full fat dairy and certain cuts of red meat, are no longer the enemy," says TODAY diet expert Joy Bauer. "Unfortunately when fat was vilified back in the 1970s, we replaced those fats with…you guessed it…refined carbohydrates. That’s why we’re in trouble now."
According to Dr. Fred Kummerow, the 99-year old pioneer of trans-fat research and one of the first scientists to assert a link between heart disease and processed foods, the saturated fat in butter, cheese and meats does not contribute to the clogging of arteries — and in fact is beneficial in moderate amounts in the context of a healthy diet. “What I really want is to see trans fats gone finally,” says Kummerow, “and for people to eat better and have a more accurate understanding of what really causes heart disease.”
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printed from SoylentNews, Fat is Good For You on 2024-04-18 18:02:04