Comments on: High-Fat Diets Are Bad For You? I Smell A Rat

By: Akewataru

Akewataru — Mon, 02 May 2011 07:34:13 +0000

If you think this study is terrible look at the Seven Countries Study by Ancel Keyes. This is THE study where they “correlated” a high fat diet to increasing the risk of Cardiovascular disease (CVD). Also, this study is why folks from your neighbor to your doctor and/or nutritionist STILL believe that saturated fats or fats in general are BAD. In reality, 22 countries were studied but he only included the seven that fit his standard curve line. However, he failed to realize that at the same time sugar consumption was increasing rapidly in the US, England & Wales, Canada and Austrailia, which coincidentally were the countries showing the the highest amount of death from CVD from increasing fat intake. Japan and Italy were way at the bottom of the graph, because at the time their diets weren’t Westernized just yet. Just yet…For you statistians out there this study was a multivariate linear regression analysis (MLRA). Keyes showed that by holding saturated fat constant there was no significant correlation between sucrose and CVD. This is debatable, but I disgress. However, in a MLRA you have to also to hold sucrose constant and see whether the saturated fat alone still cause a increase in CVD. This was never done. There is a BIG hole in this study. Finally, to top it all off, they only used MEN in the study. So, for the past 30 years the United States has based nutrition education, information, and policy on this study.

By: Lola

Lola — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:57:26 +0000

I read these research articles all the time on how bad fat is for you. But they don’t tell you that the overwhelming majority of these studies use soybean oil, corn oil and canola oil as the source of ‘fats’, not butter, cheese or any other animal fat. Why don’t they come out and tell people to stop eating the baked goods and other foods that contain these oils? Won’t happen. People might actually get well…

Oh, by the way – when do you think you will hear anything about poison white flour? Never.

By: Scdeshmukh

Scdeshmukh — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:14:13 +0000

I recently started a low-carb diet and I supplement with 2.5 T of olive oil per day (a la the Shangri La Diet). I actually feel smarter and sharper since starting taking the extra fats. My memory is definitely BETTER with all the extra fat! Although it could be the absence of sugar/carbs giving my brain a boost!

Probably a bit of both. But I think being a fat head helps.

By: Richard A.

Richard A. — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:36:07 +0000

The ketogenic oils when consumed generate ketones. Ketones can be used as a substitute for glucose by the brain and improve your memory,particularly if you are tired. The ketogenic oils are the medium chain triglycerides that can be found in coconut oil. You can also buy 100% pure MCT oil. A 32oz bolttle will cost around 15 to $20.

A memory pick me up drink –
100 Calories of coconut milk
4 teaspoons of 100% pure MCT oil
artificial sweetener

Stir the above and add enough nonfat milk to make this drink about one cup and stir. You could add wild blueberries to the above and blend with a blender.

By: KD

KD — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:40:13 +0000

As far as I know, coconuts have no legs, but are mostly saturated fat. I’m pretty amused at my current mental image of a coconut wandering away on four legs, though.

It’s a good thing coconuts don’t have legs. They might get together and attack those poor legless cows I’m having my local rancher raise for me.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:34:50 +0000

“We didn’t become fat until we started eating grains. (And we didn’t become stupid until we started feeding fat to rats and thinking the results mean anything.)”

HA! Don’t kid yourself, we were stupid long before we started feeding fats to rats – we were believing Ancel Keys in the 1950′s!

But at least many doctors and researchers disputed Keys back then. So I’ve guess we’ve gotten more stupider … probably from not eating enough fat.

By: M Lewis

M Lewis — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:29:12 +0000

“I’ve asked the local supplier of grass-fed meats to please remove the legs from their cows before slaughtering them.”

So, I guess ground beef is okay, right?

Yes, if the beef is lying on the ground, apparently the fat will be okay. That’s my interpretation of Dr. Oz.

By: guest

guest — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:03:59 +0000

Hey check out this from the DC examiner Health column today on fat – its from a Q&A column by The YOU Docs Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen. It’s amazing how much you can get wrong in such a short answer! It’s not just the reporting thats bad- its the advice columns too.
—-

Q: I’ve heard you say that we should stay away from “four-legged” fats. What do you mean by that? – anon

A: A four-legged fat is simply a fat that comes from a four-legged animal, which includes the fats in butter, beef fat, bacon and cheese. What’s so dangerous is that the products from mammals contain saturated fat, and the “S” in saturated fat stands for “stay away”. While the fat in chicken (a two-legged fat) is somewhat better, the best fat has no legs at all (think avocados, fish, olives and almonds).

Saturated fat turns on genes that are activated long after the taste is gone- those genes cause aging of your immune system, build plaque in your arteries, raise your cholesterol and inflame your blood vessels.

On the other hand, the right amount of no-legged (unsaturated) fat helps your body absorb certain vitamins, boosts heart health, keeps nerves and cells working optimally, and raises your good cholesterol.

Wow. I guess that explains why hunter-gatherers were plagued with heart disease and auto-immune diseases.

I’ve asked the local supplier of grass-fed meats to please remove the legs from their cows before slaughtering them.

By: Terry

Terry — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:37:05 +0000

Regarding the high-fat diet again — all it says is “oil”:

“During the 9-d testing period, 21 rats continued to be provided with chow ad libitum, while the remaining 21 rats were switched from standard chow to a custom-produced high-fat diet (diet code 829197; Special Diet Services), which had an AFE of 5.1 kcal/g, comprising 55% from oil, 29% from protein, and 16% from carbohydrate.”

So for all we know, it could’ve been some nasty processed vegetable oil that produces inflammation.

If you want to know just how bad science reporting often is today, think about this: several readers on this blog have asked more criticial questions than anyone reporting on the story, at least that I’ve seen.

By: Terry

Terry — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:24:54 +0000

Here are the details on the high-fat diet in this study:

“The fatty acid composition of the high-fat diet was 27% saturated fatty acid, 48% monounsaturated fatty acid, and 25% polyunsaturated fatty acid. Both diets contained adequate quantities of micronutrients.”

Another interesting detail — the high-fat rats were fed more calories and therefore gained weight. Gee, what a surprise that they subsequently didn’t exercise as much.

I still wonder what fats they were feeding them… corn oil, canola oil, lard, etc.