Which saturated fat sources are good for Health?

[Andrewgrants]

Hi Guys!!  Help me to know which saturated fat sources are more beneficial for our health, and why vegetable oil should be avoided.

[linlow]

When vegetable oils hit the market it was on the back of some research that stated saturated fats were killing us.  That research has since been proven faulty and these 'healthier option' oils to be anything but.  Data analysis has correlated increased consumption with an exponential increase in a number of illnesses including heart disease and cancer.  Issues with vegetable oils, shortenings & margarines include hydrogenation, trans fats and high omega-6 content.  Oils oxidate when heated making them degrade quite rapidly.

Omega-6 is an essential fatty acid (one that humans cannot produce for themselves) so is necessary to life BUT it is pro-inflammatory.  In line with the increased consumption of omega-6 our levels of omega-3 (another essential fatty acid) has fallen so, where the ratio should be between 1:1 and 4:1, it is closer to something between 16:1 and 40:1.  The removal of saturated fats from diet guidelines also resulted in an increased usage of sugars - fat imparts flavour to food and lack of it tastes unappetising.  To improve flavour, sugars were added to manufactured goods and recipes.

Some processed saturated fats may be just as harmful as vegetable oils so beware of buying processed foods.  In line with the majority of our modern diet, saturated fats, particularly those from animal sources, may also harbour pesticides, growth hormones and antibiotics so are best bought from organic and/or fair trade sources.

In the same vein, not all oils are harmful.  Cold pressed olive oil is an example of a 'good' oil as are flaxseed and walnut and some, like the latter 2 are good sources of omega-3s.  Grass-fed ghee can provide many benefits to the diet as can the medium chain saturated fats of coconut oil.  Palm oil is being advocated as the new 'best thing since sliced bread' but it has quite a heavy impact on the environment.  Coconut oil is following a similar path.

Our fear of saturated fats derives from research into the connection of cholesterol with a rise in heart attacks in the USA over the first half of the last century.  It has now been discovered that the results were heavily manipulated to suit the purposes of the researchers (some blame Ancel Keys, some the guys who checked his work).  The voices that tried to correct the error at the time, including John Yudkin, were either not loud enough or were silenced. 

Prior to that it was well known that most of our energy came from the fats in our diet.  Saturated fat provides 2 to 3 times the amount of energy supplied by either protein or carbohydrates.  Some saturated fats also have quite a long shelf life and resistance to degradation.

Some useful links :

6 reasons why vegetable oils are toxic authoritynutrition.com/6-re...

why you should never eat vegetable oil or margarine wellnessmama.com/2193/why-y...

saturated fat good or bad authoritynutrition.com/satu...

choosing healthy fats helpguide.org/articles/heal...

Coconut vs Ghee thhe.austusmediallc.netdna-...

Bear in mind, as you are researching subjects like this that a lot of the information currently available is out of date, or may be produced by the oil companies and/or experts in their pay or even just reiterating old information.  Plus, of course, experts and health authorities are not yet ready to admit that they were duped and have, in turn, been duping their clients ever since.

[MK974]

Almonds are an excellent source of good saturated fats.

[Andrewgrants]

Thanks guys for replying. Please check out this link and suggest if it is true or not

gnet.org/fat-101-the-satura...