Healthy Fats
As I stated earlier, we have been mislead over the proper type of fats we should be consuming in order to maintain optimum health. We have to retrain our minds to understand that saturated fats do not cause cardiovascular illness. We need to remember that polyunsaturated fats are the ones that create free radicals. These free radicals are what cause heart disease. The research of Dr. Weston Price and others, such as Dr. Dudley White, have shown repeatedly that corn oil, canola oil and other oils that remain liquid at cool temperatures cause cancer and a host of other illnesses, yet the medical establishment continues to tell us that polyunsaturated fats are “heart healthy”.
When in all actuality saturated fats are the ones that are healthy for our hearts. Myocardial Infarctions (MI) were almost non-existent in 1910, but by 1960 500,000 deaths were attributed to Myocardial Infarctions. Dr. Dudley White, a cardiologist in the early part of the twentieth century, wrote in 1956:
I began my practice as a cardiologist in 1921 and I never saw an MI patient until 1928. Back in the MI-free days before 1920, the fats were butter and lard and I think that we would all benefit from the kind of diet that we had at a time when no one had ever heard the word corn oil.
Dr. White also noted that in 1900 eggs were consumed at three times the rate they are presently and there was no corn oil, yet Myocardial Infarctions were nonexistent. There seems to be a correlation between the amount of saturated fats eaten and a healthy heart.
Saturated fats are found in animal fats and tropical oils. They are also produced within our bodies from excess carbohydrates. Not only are they less likely to go rancid, but they are also so good for us that they have been labeled the “all-systems healer”, including the digestive system. These fats can be found in beef tallow, milk products, and coconut and palm kernel oils. In our bodies, saturated fats boost hormone production, strengthen cellular membranes, and provide padding for our internal organs. Fatty acids are vital in many of our body’s signaling and stabilization processes and are used to stabilize proteins use in the immune system to fight tumors.
Monounsaturated fats, found in olive, sesame and peanut oils, are also necessary oils and can be produced within our body from saturated fats. These are also not likely to go rancid. It is best to purchase cold-pressed or virgin oils because they have not been processed and still contain all the nutrients. Due to the current low fat diets, many Americans are actually fat deprived. Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, authors of Eat Fat, Lose Fat, write, “You can be 200 pounds overweight and still be undernourished and fat deprived.”
These healthy fats are full of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Cod liver oil, egg yolks and flax oil should be a part of every person’s diet because they contain long chain saturated fats that are vital to our health, as does beef tallow and dairy products. These fatty acids increase energy, boost our immune system and optimize digestion. Contrary to popular believe, these fats do not add fat to our bodies; they actually will cause our body to burn off the fat we have, causing weight loss. That is because they are quickly converted to energy.
If this is all true, and I believe it is, then why do we continue to hear that saturated fats from animal sources are so bad for our hearts? It is because of something called the “Lipid Hypothesis”, which was made in 1954 by a Russian scientist by the name of David Kritchevsky. He announced that the results of his experiments showed that saturated fats and cholesterol from animal sources raise cholesterol levels in the blood, leading to the formation of plaque in arteries. This plaque clogs arteries, causing heart disease.
The only problem is that his research was flawed. How so? He fed saturated fat from animal sources to rabbits. Since rabbits are herbivores, not carnivores or even omnivores, their bodies are not equipped to process these kinds of fats. Therefore, the results do not apply to humans. Besides that, it was discovered in 1955 that Japanese have just as much plaque in their arteries as western men, even though their diet is low in saturated fats.
Regardless of these facts, the American Heart Association announced in 1956 the “Prudent Diet” insisting that Americans change their eating habits from butter, lard, beef and eggs to corn oil, margarine, chicken and cold cereal. They also went on the attack against coconut oil, which is one of the very best foods we can ingest.
Virgin coconut oil prevents infection because it contains lauric acid, which has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. It strengthens the immune system, supports proper liver function and diminishes fatigue as it increases energy. Coconut oil helps to prevent low blood sugar by stabilizing blood sugar and thereby reducing mood swings. For those with thyroid problems, there is nothing better as it helps to stabilize the metabolism. Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease can benefit from coconut oil as well as its antifungal properties help keep the digestive system functioning properly. Besides all of that, it is good for our skin and hair.
Yet the Prudent Diet turned us away from oils such as coconut oil and their immunity boosting properties, instead telling us to consume polyunsaturated fats. These fats are more likely to go rancid than any other kind of fat and should be avoided as much as possible. The free radicals formed by these fats have been shown to cause both cancer and heart disease.
Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about trans fats and how bad they are for us, but it was not that long ago that these fats were considered suitable for human consumption. Trans fats are rearranged fatty acids produced by bombarding polyunsaturated oils with hydrogen. This process is called partial hydrogenation. This process causes polyunsaturated fats to behave like saturated fats, but with a longer shelf life. The food industry loved this idea and they were not too happy when people like Dr. Mary Enig started pointing out just how bad these trans fats are for the human body.
Trans fats actually increase cholesterol in our blood stream and will cause our bodies to retain extra fats, increasing our weight. They have been found to compromise bodily functions such as hormone synthesis, immunity function, insulin metabolism and compromise tissue repair. In 2002 the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences stated that there are no safe levels of trans fats and that they were, in fact, “even more harmful than saturated fats.”
These trans fats also inhibit the production of adrenal hormones that our bodies need in order to properly handle the stress of our daily lives. This can also lead to problems with glucose balance, mineral metabolism and reproduction. Diabetics especially need to avoid trans fats as they interfere with insulin receptors within our cells and cause an increase in the need for insulin shots. Research also suggests that our increased consumption of trans and polyunsaturated fats is contributing to the increase in asthma in our children, which is nearing epidemic proportions.
They also interfere with the production of prostaglandin, resulting in imbalances in our bodies that can lead to inflammation, weight gain, allergies, asthma and cancer. Each of these conditions is on the rise in our culture and the doctors claim they don’t know why. By reducing and eliminating trans fats from our diet, and replacing them with saturated fats like coconut oil, we can go a long way in our fight against these conditions.
We have also been told that saturated fats cause our cholesterol to rise, which blocks our arteries and causes heart disease. This is also not true. Back in 1964 a famous heart surgeon named DeBakey was involved in a study of 1700 patients. His findings show there is no definite correlation between serum cholesterol levels and the nature and extent of heart disease. To put it plainly, he discovered that cholesterol levels have nothing to do with the blocking of the arteries.
In all actuality, high cholesterol protects against infection and will actually cause us to live longer, according to Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, who cites eleven other studies that confirm his findings. Dr. Harlan Krumholz, from the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University agrees as well. In 1994 he said that elderly people with low cholesterol died two times as often as those with high cholesterol. Low cholesterol levels increase our risk of dying from gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases and increase the likelihood of contracting HIV by two times.
With all of this evidence, why do our doctors still insist that we need to reduce our cholesterol levels? Are they not receiving this information? Why not? The evidence has been around since the 1950’s. Scientists studied the Bantu, who consume a mostly vegetarian diet, and discovered that they also have plaque in their arteries. This fact shows us that the thickening of the arterial walls are completely natural and happen to all people as they get older, regardless of how much saturated fat they consume.
Reintroducing saturated fats back into our diet will greatly improve our over-all health and can actually begin to turn around many ailments. According to Dr. Mary Enig, chronic fatigue can be alleviated simply by using coconut oil because it contains medium-chain fatty acids that provide energy and fight pathogens in the digestive tract that contribute to fatigue. These medium-chain fatty acids also help prevent low blood sugar while supporting the thyroid gland. And, on top of all of these wonderful benefits, when combined with cod liver oil, coconut oil’s fatty acids help the body to manufacture the adrenal hormones needed to deal with stress.
Many diabetics don’t realize this, but before the discovery of insulin, the only treatment for diabetes was a diet consisting largely of fat. The more coconut oil we consume, the better our body can process sugars, especially with type II diabetes. Although saturated fats can’t heal a pancreas that is not working properly, as in type I diabetes, they can help prevent some of the side effects of diabetes, such as kidney and retinal problems. They can also help our body to repair damaged tissue, also a problem for diabetics.
And, to top it off, coconut oil has been known to help prevent the flu virus from surviving in our body. This is because the virus has a lipid coating that is dissolved by coconut oil. Good bacteria a coating that can withstand the effects of the oil and, in fact, thrive in its environment. And it tastes good, naturally. What could be better? What could man possibly make that could have as many benefits, tastes good and doesn’t cause nasty side effects? So far, man has come up with… nothing.
Those people who have a proven track record of not being completely honest with us tend to be the ones we listen to the most. Why is that? If it is not reported on the nightly news, it doesn’t really happen… or it isn’t really true. Surely there couldn’t be that many people who would willingly tell us lies regarding what is good and what is not, causing so many diseases that they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars from treating. Could there? Money is a powerful motivator.
Coconut oil can be found in just about any health food store, or can be ordered on the web for a reasonable price (watch that shipping!) It can be used in place of shortening when cool (is hard and white) or can be added as a liquid when warm. Many stores, including Wal-Mart, are beginning to carry beef tallow in their meat section and good, extra-virgin olive oil because more and more people are discovering the benefits of using saturated fats instead of the polyunsaturated fats found in vegetable oils. If you can find a local butcher, better yet… he might give you a discount on both the tallow for soap making and some bones for the soup pot.