How goes the current debate on heart disease versus saturated fat?

[Hyperion]

I came across this long article ( http://www.menshealt...h/saturated-fat ) that reviews many studies done in the past on whether eating saturated fat is causing heart disease. The article is against the simple hypothesis created in the 60's that saturated fat is positively related to heart disease, and claims that eating a good amount (not overeating) of saturated fat doesn't necessarily cause you to gain weight and become risky of heart problem, while unhealthy living habit (exercise/smoking/driving etc.) along with high carbohydrate intake is what's causing the increase of heart attack in the US in recent decades.

I myself tend to agree with this article. I've always been a devoted fat/meat eater (I do avoid transfat though) since child age, and I have always been lean (130-140 pounds) until I got out of college and began working, my living habit changed dramatically (8 hour tiring brain work = no will for exercise; high stress causing me to eat a lot of junk food and sweetened soft drink), and I gained 20 pounds, but it's been steady since then (about 2 years now), after I cut down on junk food and sugar intake. I tend to feel that sugar is the biggest problem for American people's health. You know back then, sugar was a luxury and people didn't get to have it very much. Nowadays with cane sugar being more readily available and large production of corn syrup, Americans are feasting on sugar with an addiction, along with less physical activity (why do people rather wait 2 minutes for a parking space super close to the building than parking a little further away and walking for just 1 minute?), which is what I believe is what's causing the increase in heart disease.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I think about this quite a bit and I believe that stress, obesity and lack of exercise are the real culprits. I look back at the older people in my life who worked hard every day at relatively uncomplicated physical tasks, that they enjoyed. They kept at those "jobs" in many cases into their mid-eighties. They also enjoyed a diet of simple natural foods that were high in saturated fats. The only ones that had severe/chronic health problems were the ones who were unwilling or unable to control weight. I also believe that the stress is in large part driven by the constant sound bites concerning what to eat or not eat, what type of exercise, supplements etc. Just turn it all off and enjoy yourself, it will be over soon enough and nobody will remember what you ate or how often you went to the gym.

 

[tinlizzie]

Amen, Aunt Bea.

 

[Claire]

I can't agree more with the exercise part of this line (I haven't gone back yet to the original article) but am often amazed at the lengths people will go through to avoid walking a few yards more when parking. I have a friend who lives TWO BLOCKS from my house, in a beautiful, picturesque area, and drives to my house when visiting. I have next door neighbors who are slim and healthy, in their mid-sixties (as is hubby), and drive to Main Street for social stuff. Because of the parking situation, we usually arrive -- on foot -- before they do.

 

[Hyperion]

I think it's ridiculous how people use things like calorie calculators to monitor whether they are over-eating. Really, when someone's NOT overeating, he eats until he's full, and then eat again when he's hungry, simple as that. But what most people do when they overeat is they need tons of snacks and sugar and chocolate when they are not hungry, and that's for pleasure purpose not for quenching the hunger. This is overeating.

I also think the whole calorie thing is blasphemy. Sure, a gram of XX food contains YY amount of calories, but it doesn't mean everyone will absorb the entire YY amount of calories. Some people with slow digestion might, but other people only gets a small amount of it. Funny thing is, fat itself is actually pretty darn hard for the digestive track to turn into energy (for the body to gain fatty weight, the food has to be first converted into energy, and THEN converted into fat), and therefore more difficult to become fat tissue than other energy sources like sugar. On the other hand, natural animal fat actually contains certain nutrients that the body needs, so eating animal fat is by far not a bad thing for you.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I've been reading a ton on this subject lately, and the more I read, the more I get the sense that most of our society's physical ailments boil down to two words: poor nutrition.

I believe that any number of diets can be healthy, and can help ward off heart disease. Regardless of whether you're a veggie or meat eater, you just need to make sure what you're eating is nutrient dense food, and not just empty calories. I fully believe that consuming too many nutrient poor foods (most fast foods and highly refined foods fall into this category) is the root cause of over-eating. It's like no matter how many Big Macs and fries you put away, your body knows that it isn't nutritionally satisfied and signals a response that you need to eat more.

Maybe that's an oversimplification, but all I know is that when I eat well-balanced, nutritious meals, I feel full faster and sated much longer than if I eat food that contains a lot of empty calories.

In short, your body knows what's going on even if your mind doesn't.

 

[Hyperion]

big mac is one thing, sugar is another one. I can't believe how much some women seem to love sweet stuff, they just can't get over the chocolate and cupcakes while they try not to eat red meat. And then at the end of the day they gain lots of weight while still nutritiously lacking.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I find that an unfair generalization about women.

 

[Dawgluver]

I don't care for sweets, am mostly a carnivore/ omnivore. And I'm female.

 

[Hyperion]

I find that an unfair generalization about women.

I said "some women"

you can nitpick my words all you want, but the truth is, many women in the US need to cut down on the sugar, while it's not as big of a problem for men yet.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I said "some women"

Men too...guess who has the weight problem in my house and can't give up the sweets...I've always eaten a very healthy diet and dislike sweets, yet I've had a heart attack. Shrek sits there and eats garbage foods and he hasn't had a heart attack. So it's not just women and it's an unfair generalization.

 

[Hyperion]

Men too...guess who has the weight problem in my house and can't give up the sweets...I've always eaten a very healthy diet and dislike sweets, yet I've had a heart attack. Shrek sits there and eats garbage foods and he hasn't had a heart attack. So it's not just women and it's an unfair generalization.

that's just a single case. look at the general public, is it men or women who are most hyped about desserts and cupcakes?

 

[Dawgluver]

I guess I would go with everything in moderation. There is no reason to disallow yourself something you love unless there's an allergy or other health reason, it just makes the craving stronger, and binging more likely. Unfortunately, for lower income folks, high calorie, preservative loaded foods are cheaper and more readily available than the good stuff. I think there is also a lack of education.

Men and women have equal obesity levels in this country.

Oh, yeah, sugar IS a big problem for men too.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

that's just a single case. look at the general public, is it men or women who are most hyped about desserts and cupcakes?

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this...I don't see any predisposition for sweets that is gender based.

 

[Hyperion]

there's studies done on why female love sweets:
Why Do Women Love Sugar? The Truth About Your Sweet Tooth - DivineCaroline

though it's a nature thing, but those who love sweets and are unwilling to control, shouldn't complain about body weight.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

That's not a study, show me a true study from the NIH, not someone's blog.

Men like sugar just as much as women do, I'm speaking as a nurse who has studied nutrition extensively both for my job and my own health.

 

[Dawgluver]

Men and women are pretty much tied in heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Different types of cancers, obviously.

A single study does not make it so.

 

[Hyperion]

That's not a study, show me a true study from the NIH, not someone's blog.

Men like sugar just as much as women do, I'm speaking as a nurse who has studied nutrition extensively both for my job and my own health.

didn't you read the study quoted in the blog?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

didn't you read the study quoted in the blog?

That was not a study, it is the bloggers rewording without citing where she got her information.

We will agree to disagree about women being predisposed to eating sweets.

 

[Hyperion]

Men and women are pretty much tied in heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Different types of cancers, obviously.

of course, if you want to put all things together, there's no need for scientific studies at all - we all die one day anyways, why bother?

but the thing is, the general public has been fooled by inaccurate study results mingled with politics for many years, and they believe eating fat is a bad thing whatsoever. in order for this notion to be corrected, there needs to be specific emphasize on the opposite, even though the emphasis seems a big "unfair". if your car is strafing too much towards left, do you keep driving in neutral direction, or do you steer to the right?