4 ms·

Saturated fat is bad for you beyond the number of calories you get from it. This appears to be an unsubstantiated claim, one that the study cited by the articl

• jrockway 16y ago
  According to Wikipedia, "the authors noted that randomized controlled clinical trials in which saturated fat was replaced with polyunsaturated fat observed a reduction in heart disease, and that the ratio between polyunsaturated fat and saturated fat may be a key factor." The actual paper is "under embargo", so I have no idea if it actually says this or not. YMMV.
  • donaldc 16y ago
    Without knowing more details it's impossible to know what this means. If this is the same paper the article we are commenting on talked about, then the article appears to have misrepresented the conclusions of the study. In any case, not all saturated fat is equal. Not all polyunsaturated fat is equal, either. For example, I'd bet it would make a big difference whether the dairy fat was from homogenized milk or some other form (cheese, yogurt) that was not homogenized. It usually doesn't seem to even occur to the authors of studies that such details might make any difference at all.
• Evgeny 16y ago
  There is more on saturated fat from the same blog author here: Saturated Fat and Health: a Brief Literature Review, Part I http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/10/saturated-fat-and-risk-of-death-brief.html http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/10/saturated-fat-... and Saturated Fat and Health: a Brief Literature Review, Part II http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/10/saturated-fat-and-health-brief.html http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/10/saturated-fat-...
  • dejb 16y ago
    His bias shows clearly in my view. He complains about large scale epidemiological studies (in the links you provided) and then uses what seems like a relatively small study to back up his claims (in the parent story). Large scale epidemiological studies may have problems but they are enough to tip the burden of proof towards those who would disagree with them. It is certainly better than relying on some notions of the diet that our primitive ancestors may have had - especially considering that our current circumstances are very different and our life spans are already greater. To me this is a case of naturalistic fallacy.
    • Daniel_Newby 16y ago
      "Large scale epidemiological studies may have problems but they are enough to tip the burden of proof towards those who would disagree with them." No! Other things are often highly correlated with diet, and has massive effects on cardiovascular health (exercise in particular). Only randomized controlled dietary trials can be trusted for predictive power.
• ajslater 16y ago
  Saturated fat is not "bad" for you. Not getting enough essential fatty acids (polyunsaturated fats) is bad for you. Not having enough unsaturated fats either through dietary intake or conversion from EFAs is bad for you. Having a high Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFA balance may be bad for you.