This article is about  the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,  the world’s largest organisation of food and nutrition professionals and their review of recommendations for  “2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans”.

Some quotes….

“the Academy supports the DGAC in its decision to drop dietary cholesterol from the nutrients of concern list and recommends it deemphasize saturated fat from nutrients of concern, given the lack of evidence connecting it with cardiovascular disease.”

“a growing body of research suggesting that the low sodium intake levels recommended by the DGAC are actually associated with increased mortality for healthy individuals“

“the evidence is strongest that a reduction in the intake of added sugars will improve the health of the American public”

(Saturated fat is good for you not bad.)

Well, a lot of people knew this years ago but the Sydney Morning Herald has just discovered it this morning!

On ABC radio yesterday they reported on an Australian study by  Lisa Wood that shows saturated fat can worsen asthma. The article is transcribed here: “Associate Professor Lisa Wood discusses a new finding that an unhealthy diet high in saturated fats and low fresh food can exacerbate asthma and make it more difficult to treat.”

This was a little surprising to me because it goes against all the recent research showing that saturated fats are highly beneficial to our health. So I did a little bit of research only to find that the article itself by Lisa Wood says the exact opposite  of what ABC radio has reported it as saying.

Lisa Wood in her article says that polyunsaturated fat is what makes asthma worse.  But by the time this makes it to an interview on ABC radio they are reporting that it is saturated fat that makes asthma worse! How does misinformation like this keep being propagated?

GONE VIRAL!

It gets worse. A google search on ‘fat worsens asthma’ shows this Australian study has gone viral. Everyone is quoting it around the world as fact…

The United Kingdom

“High saturated fat diets can render asthma inhalers ineffective.” (Daily Mail UK)

Australia

“Inflammatory foods include those high in saturated fat and refined sugar.” (SMH Australia)

“We have shown that a higher saturated fat intake causes airway inflammation.” (ABC Australia)

USA

“High-fat foods may trigger airway inflammation, study finds.” (LA Times)

And the list goes on. They are all spring-boarding off one another with this sensational news that saturated fat worsens asthma.

THE ORIGINAL RESEARCH SAYS THE OPPOSITE!

So I checked out the Author Lisa Wood’s research.  She has written a book called “Asthma and inflammation, Nutrition and Physical Activity in Inflammatory Diseases”

So what does she say in the section on saturated fat and asthma?

It’s actually an increase in polyunsaturated fat that has lead to an increase in asthma, not saturated fat. Read it for yourself…

On the other hand Omega 3 fatty acids (found in grass-fed beef and fish) actually reduce asthma.

So what about saturated fat and asthma?

Well according to the book it’s inconclusive – read the quote below.

The first study of 1166 adolescents quoted in the paragraph above was  a study of teenagers in Taiwan filling in a diary of the food they ate. So yes, you can probably guess where the saturated fat came from… I doubt these teenagers were eating grass fed beef or coconut oil, more likely junk food full of sugar and carbs as well as fat.

On the other hand, 6  studies show that saturated fat does not worsen asthma. And she states that Omega 3 fats found in butter and lard are good for asthma.

But what ends up getting reported all over the world? The opposite! And people continue on with the myth that all saturated fat is unhealthy.

There is always more to the story than meets the eye.

A diet containing good saturated fats such as olive oil, egg yolk, coconut oil and grass fed beef may be good for asthma, yet the media is in a frenzy spreading the exact opposite message.

“middle-aged men who consumed high-fat milk, butter and cream were significantly less likely to become obese over a period of 12 years”

I like these results, but to be fair,  they prove nothing. It was just a questionnaire that found men who have full fat milk gain less weight.

There could be other causal links. For example, maybe men who have full cream milk are more relaxed, less stressed about weight, and that’s why they lose weight!!! Maybe guys on low fat diets are avoiding other good foods? Maybe the men who have low fat milk have flavoured milk with more sugar. Who knows. But it’s an interesting conclusion….

We found that a low intake of dairy fat was associated with a higher risk of developing central obesity and that a high intake of dairy fat was associated with a lower risk of central obesity among men without central obesity at baseline.

Here’s the article.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/12/275376259/the-full-fat-paradox-whole-milk-may-keep-us-lean

– The Australian newspaper reports public outcry over the episode. “ABC Health expert Norman Swan suggested Catalyst had been conned by people with a clear bias on the issue and warned “people will die” if they believed the program instead of their doctor.”

– The AMA and Heart Foundation have condemned the ABC.

– Drug companies have been surveying doctors since the episode to see if people are stopping their cholesterol medication.

– Media Watch has condemned the reporting as unscientific. (There is now a great debate on the Media Watch sight about their reporting being as bad as Catalyst.)

People are calling for an apology and resignations from the ABC. I hope the ABC stick to their guns.

If we can’t debate saturated fat without extreme responses and emotive replies, what can we debate?

Where did you get your ideas about saturated fat? Are you a product of the 1980’s when we were brainwashed into switching from butter to margarine.

Here are some journal articles to get you thinking.

Saturated fat, cholesterol and the brain:  ” Indeed, high cholesterol level is positively correlated with longevity in people over 85 years old, and in some cases has been shown to be associated with better memory function and reduced dementia…We suggest that a diet high in high-glycemic index carbohydrates, particularly fructose, and relatively low in fats and cholesterol, leads to a destructive process… Neurons begin to suffer damage as well… Simple dietary modification, towards fewer highly-processed carbohydrates and relatively more fats and cholesterol, is likely a protective measure against Alzheimer’s disease. ”

High cholesterol and old age: “In conclusion, after adjusting for other factors associated with longevity, higher HDL cholesterol levels were significantly associated with survival to 85 years of age.”

Cholesterol and Dementia “High cholesterol in late life was associated with decreased dementia risk, which is in contrast to previous studies suggesting high cholesterol in mid-life is a risk factor for later dementia…”

Mediterranean diet vs cholesterol lowering medication.  The Mediterranean diet improves heart health without lowering cholesterol levels. The Mediterranean diet is better than statins for reducing heart attack, even though it doesn’t  lower cholesterol levels. But in the conclusion it does a backflip and says keep taking your drugs to keep drug companies happy, oops, I mean, to keep your cholesterol low.

“An astonishing 70% reduction in the incidence of subsequent death and nonfatal myocardial infarction was reported in patients on the Mediterranean diet…. Even more remarkable is that this mortality benefit occurred despite no difference between the study and the control populations in follow-up LDL and HDL cholesterol levels.”

Saturated fat reduces fatty liver disease in rats. ” The data indicate that a diet enriched in saturated fatty acids (groups 3 and 4) effectively reverses alcohol-induced liver injury, including fibrosis.”

Note there are different types of Saturated fats.

The good ones are raw vegetable fats and and grass fed animal fats and fish.