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Concerning unsaturated vs saturated fats...nutritionists needed.
I have an oddball question. I've been doing some research on the effects of saturated fats vs monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Science has been saying that saturated fats(SF) can increase the risk of heart disease, though, lately that looks like it may not be as true as we all thought. However, for simplicity's sake, let's say it's still absolute that SF is bad for your heart. On the other hand monounsaturated(MUF) and polyunsaturated(PUF) fats are good for you and lower your LDL while raising your HDL.
So, my questions has to do with balancing it out. Hypothetically, would 1 gram of SF and 1 gram of MUF/PUF cancel one another out on a 1:1 ratio for blood cholesterol levels? I know this is probably not true, but I just don't want to have to watch every single gram of saturated fat that goes into my body so long as I'm eating things like nuts and olive oil.
I get concerned when I eat delicious cheese and red meat. If I also eat things such as almonds, olive oils and peanut butter, should I not put so much scrutiny on my SF intake?
On another note, I've read over and over that dietary cholesterol doesn't have that much of an impact on LDL in the long run as saturated fats do.
Regardless, I've taken several healthier steps to my diet including low carb(hard as heck), lower saturated fat, high protein and high fiber while increasing veggie intake for vitamins. I just get so frustrated sometimes with what is available to me (fairly poor, on food stamps). I don't count calories or anything, but i'm wondering if I should be this uptight about my saturated fat intake.
I guess I should mention there is a family history of heart disease and diabetes on both sides of the family. My dad had a heart attack at 25 and triple bypass at 32.He was diagnosed with diabetes probably close to 10 years ago (he is 50 now). I have had several tests done multiple times in the past including an echo-cardiograms, stress tests and a heart monitor. Other than being diagnosed with PVCs, I have a healthy heart.
This is more out of curiosity than anything. It's hard to find any hard evidence one way or the other when using Google, so i'm presenting my question to this community in hopes of some guidance. Thanks!
So, my questions has to do with balancing it out. Hypothetically, would 1 gram of SF and 1 gram of MUF/PUF cancel one another out on a 1:1 ratio for blood cholesterol levels? I know this is probably not true, but I just don't want to have to watch every single gram of saturated fat that goes into my body so long as I'm eating things like nuts and olive oil.
I get concerned when I eat delicious cheese and red meat. If I also eat things such as almonds, olive oils and peanut butter, should I not put so much scrutiny on my SF intake?
On another note, I've read over and over that dietary cholesterol doesn't have that much of an impact on LDL in the long run as saturated fats do.
Regardless, I've taken several healthier steps to my diet including low carb(hard as heck), lower saturated fat, high protein and high fiber while increasing veggie intake for vitamins. I just get so frustrated sometimes with what is available to me (fairly poor, on food stamps). I don't count calories or anything, but i'm wondering if I should be this uptight about my saturated fat intake.
I guess I should mention there is a family history of heart disease and diabetes on both sides of the family. My dad had a heart attack at 25 and triple bypass at 32.He was diagnosed with diabetes probably close to 10 years ago (he is 50 now). I have had several tests done multiple times in the past including an echo-cardiograms, stress tests and a heart monitor. Other than being diagnosed with PVCs, I have a healthy heart.
This is more out of curiosity than anything. It's hard to find any hard evidence one way or the other when using Google, so i'm presenting my question to this community in hopes of some guidance. Thanks!
It depends on what's in the salad, actually, though I agree, I mean that if you eat mostly good foods rich in antioxidants it will in fact be protective. But if you eat a lettuce salad, well, that's just largely fiber and water, but if you eat a salad of dandelion greens, watercress, and seaweed, it will be very mineral and antioxidant rich. As for saturated fat, it depends on the source -- not all sources are equal.
I didn't see the bottom half of your post when I first commented for some reason, which is why I am commenting again.
Low carb and high protien diets will cause ketosis and ultimately kidney and liver damage, they are extremely unhealthy for you.
The reason for this is because the body uses 2 types of fuels as energy, those are carbohydrates and fats. But your body stores lots of fat and not many carbs, and even the simple act of sprinting to catch a bus can completely deplete your carb stores. This is why everyone will advise you to eat a proper balance of foods. You need to eat adequete carbohydrates, not as many fats, not as much protien.
Not getting enough carbs causes the body to turn to protien (your muscles) and the byproduct of your body trying to use protien as a fuel is completely toxic to the body, this is what makes athletes smell like amonia/vinegar/catpiss when they sweat, it's because they haven't eaten enough carbs that day.
The low carb diet is extremely dangerous. It does not help you lose fat, you'll just lose a bunch of water weight. Another reason it's dangerous is because your brain only functions on glycogen (carbs). People often report euphoria when they begin to starve themselves on these unhealthy diets, that's what happens when your brain cells are dying and your body is being deprived of energy that it needs to survive.
When I originally said cultures that eat mostly meat I definitely wasn't refering to eating only meat, it's commonly know that eating too much meat and not enough other things is extremely dangerous. What I meant is cultures that do eat a wide range of meat while also eating other vegetables and what not, they eat tons of red meat and are much healthier than Americans are. But americans and canadians are all about processed foods, toxic foods and fast foods, and I'd bet that's what is killing us - not fats.
Low carb and high protien diets will cause ketosis and ultimately kidney and liver damage, they are extremely unhealthy for you.
The reason for this is because the body uses 2 types of fuels as energy, those are carbohydrates and fats. But your body stores lots of fat and not many carbs, and even the simple act of sprinting to catch a bus can completely deplete your carb stores. This is why everyone will advise you to eat a proper balance of foods. You need to eat adequete carbohydrates, not as many fats, not as much protien.
Not getting enough carbs causes the body to turn to protien (your muscles) and the byproduct of your body trying to use protien as a fuel is completely toxic to the body, this is what makes athletes smell like amonia/vinegar/catpiss when they sweat, it's because they haven't eaten enough carbs that day.
The low carb diet is extremely dangerous. It does not help you lose fat, you'll just lose a bunch of water weight. Another reason it's dangerous is because your brain only functions on glycogen (carbs). People often report euphoria when they begin to starve themselves on these unhealthy diets, that's what happens when your brain cells are dying and your body is being deprived of energy that it needs to survive.
When I originally said cultures that eat mostly meat I definitely wasn't refering to eating only meat, it's commonly know that eating too much meat and not enough other things is extremely dangerous. What I meant is cultures that do eat a wide range of meat while also eating other vegetables and what not, they eat tons of red meat and are much healthier than Americans are. But americans and canadians are all about processed foods, toxic foods and fast foods, and I'd bet that's what is killing us - not fats.
No lol, that's like saying if you eat a deep fried cheeseburger and a salad, that the salad will cancel out the cheeseburger. As much as we want to think that salad will cancel out all the unhealthy crap we just ate, it just doesn't happen. Now, if you ate healthy for the entire week, then sure that one cheeseburger isn't going to matter.
However, I believe the studies that prove saturated fats are good for you. The human body needs a well rounded balance of all the fats in order to be healthy.
Besides, if you eat healthy most of the time, it will be perfectly fine to have a cheeseburger once in awhile. So you can get away with eating cheese and red meat once in awhile, just not all the time and thinking that the more olive oil you eat, the more red meat you can also eat LOL.
IMHO, those studies that say saturated fats cause heart disease are BS but if you are still worried about it, simply eat them in moderation. It's not saying you should never eat saturated fats, it's just saying you shouldn't eat too many of them because they can apparently clog your aterties in excess. But to answer your original question, you can't cancel out anything you ingest. I highly doubt it's saturated fats that are doing that and not all the other unhealthy crap people are eating in those fast food restuarunts that cook everything in saturated fat. I wouldn't worry about it though, cultures that eat mostly meat have been known to be some of the most healthiest so there goes the supposed theory that saturated fats are unhealthy for people. There have been plenty of scientific studies to disprove that claim. It all came about during that low fat phase, when people used to think all fats were bad for you. Now people are realizing fats are great for you and actually help you lose fat, so they are getting obsessed with coconut oils and other types of fats, but are still normally shunning the lard and dairy products. I eat animal fat, I eat lots of cheese, drink plenty of milk (among other healthy things in my diet) and I've never been healthier and there is no way I have any problems with my heart at all. Dairy and red meat has many health benefits too :)
However, I believe the studies that prove saturated fats are good for you. The human body needs a well rounded balance of all the fats in order to be healthy.
Besides, if you eat healthy most of the time, it will be perfectly fine to have a cheeseburger once in awhile. So you can get away with eating cheese and red meat once in awhile, just not all the time and thinking that the more olive oil you eat, the more red meat you can also eat LOL.
IMHO, those studies that say saturated fats cause heart disease are BS but if you are still worried about it, simply eat them in moderation. It's not saying you should never eat saturated fats, it's just saying you shouldn't eat too many of them because they can apparently clog your aterties in excess. But to answer your original question, you can't cancel out anything you ingest. I highly doubt it's saturated fats that are doing that and not all the other unhealthy crap people are eating in those fast food restuarunts that cook everything in saturated fat. I wouldn't worry about it though, cultures that eat mostly meat have been known to be some of the most healthiest so there goes the supposed theory that saturated fats are unhealthy for people. There have been plenty of scientific studies to disprove that claim. It all came about during that low fat phase, when people used to think all fats were bad for you. Now people are realizing fats are great for you and actually help you lose fat, so they are getting obsessed with coconut oils and other types of fats, but are still normally shunning the lard and dairy products. I eat animal fat, I eat lots of cheese, drink plenty of milk (among other healthy things in my diet) and I've never been healthier and there is no way I have any problems with my heart at all. Dairy and red meat has many health benefits too :)
Most recent evidence which has just come out has downplayed the risk factor of saturated fat, but it depends on the source of the saturated fat. High protein diets are okay in the short term, but untested in the long-term, and we know if you get carried away they can cause kidney problems. A good balanced diet does help balance things -- nobody should be so stressed about their diet that they never eat what they like or get obsessed and tense about it. HDL is what counterbalances LDL, although again, the risks of LDL are being questioned right now. Triglycerides are the worst type of fat. There are many good books on this and many recent studies being undertaken, but no consensus, so I'd do a lot of reading and then decide what I wanted to try. As for being on food stamps, beans are a very inexpensive source of protein and also contain fiber, so you don't have to get it from animals or expensive nuts, though nuts and fish are great protein sources. Also keep in mind that even with the bad cholesterol theory, it's only oxidized cholesterol that is really bad, the kind that sticks to the blood vessels, so eating a lot of antioxidant rich foods lessens this risk. Good hunting on your research.
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