14 Nov The Truth About Saturated Fat
This blog is excerpted from an article by Dr. David Seaman published in the Fall 2013 issue of the Virginia Voice, a publication of the Unified Virginia Chiropractic Association A recent article published in the British Medical Journal states: “Now two thirds of people admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction really have metabolic syndrome — but 75% of these patients have completely normal total cholesterol concentrations. Maybe this is because total cholesterol isn’t really the problem?” The real issue here is what has been coined “Metabolic Syndrome” which is a name for a group of risk factors that raise one’s risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke. These risk factors include abdominal obesity, high triglyceride levels, low HDL (good cholesterol), high blood pressure, and high blood glucose levels. Dr. Seaman goes on to state in his article, “The metabolic syndrome is a chronic inflammatory state and known to drive most chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Even chronic musculoskeletal pains can be promoted by the inflammatory metabolic syndrome 2. ” Dr. Seaman goes on to state, “Butyric acid, caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid are all saturated fatty acids. There are more, but these are the main ones that are described.” He notes that these fats are anti-inflammatory. Triglycerides become elevated by consuming refined carbohydrates. So the lipid problem that people develop over time is due to consuming too many refined carbohydrates, NOT FAT. To read more of Dr. Seaman’s work, visit http://deflame.com/ References: References: 1. Malhorta A. Saturated fat is not the major issue: let’s bust the myth of its role in heart disease. Brit Med J. 2013;347:f6340 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f6340 (Published 22 October 2013). http://www.bmj.com/highwire/filestream/668037/field_highwire_ article_pdf/0/bmj.f6340 2. Seaman DR. Body mass index and musculoskeletal pain: is there a connection? Chiro Man Ther. 2013;21:15. http://www. chiromt.com/content/21/1/15 3. German JB, Dillard CJ. Saturated fats: what dietary intake? Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 80:550-59. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/3/550.full.pdf+html 4. O’Keefe JH Jr, Cordain L. Cardiovascular disease resulting from a diet and lifestyle at odds with our Paleolithic genome: how to become a 21st-century hunter-gatherer. Mayo Clin Proc. 2004; 79(1):101-8. 5. Cordain L et al. Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005; 81(2):341- 54. 6. German JB, Dillard CJ. Saturated fats: a perspective from lactation and milk composition. Lipids. 2010; 45:915-23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC2950926/ pdf/11745_2010_Article_3445.