How familiar are you with saturated fat? As a nutrition expert, I pretty much lose sight of the fact that many people probably don’t give it the attention it deserves.
So, how well do you know saturated fats?
1. Do you know the recommended daily limits and why?
2. Do you know the diseases linked to saturated fats?
3. Do you know which foods are high and low in saturated fats?
If you answered no… then read on.
1. You want to keep sat fat to 10% of calories or less. If you are eating 2000 cals a day this is about 200 cals of sat fat or about 20 grams a day. That’s not a lot people.
2. The most common diseases linked to sat fat are heart disease, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and now colon cancer (see study below).
3. High fat meat and dairy, butter, coconut oil, and palm oil (and fried foods depending on the oil used) are all high in saturated fat. Go for the leanest meats and cut off any visible fat before cooking. Avoid processed fatty meats like bacon and sausage. Go for low fat dairy like 50% reduced fat Cabot cheese, 1% cottage cheese, skim milk, and skim string cheese. Limit butter intake and use oilve/canola oil which actually protects the heart. Foods low in saturated fat include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and nuts. Go figure!
Here’s the study on saturated fat and cancer.
Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Subar AF, Thompson FE, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A.
A Prospective Study of Meat and Fat Intake in Relation to Small
Intestinal Cancer.
Cancer Res. 2008 Nov 15;68(22):9274-9279.
PMID: 19010900
Abstract
Diets high in red and processed meats are associated with carcinogenesis
of the large intestine, but no prospective study has examined meat and
fat intake in relation to cancer of the small intestine.
We prospectively investigated meat and fat intakes, estimated from a
food frequency questionnaire, in relation to small intestinal cancer
among half a million men and women enrolled in the NIH-AARP Diet and
Health Study. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate
hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
During up to 8 years of follow-up, 60 adenocarcinomas and 80 carcinoid
tumors of the small intestine were diagnosed. Despite slightly elevated
HRs for red meat, there were no clear associations for red or processed
meat intake and either adenocarcinoma or carcinoid tumors of the small
intestine. In contrast, we noted a markedly elevated risk for carcinoid
tumors of the small intestine with saturated fat intake in both the
categorical (highest versus lowest tertile: HR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.62-6.25)
and continuous data (HR, 3.72; 95% CI, 1.79-7.74 for each 10-g increase
in intake per 1,000 kcal).
Our findings suggest that the positive associations for meat intake
reported in previous case-control studies may partly be explained by
saturated fat intake.
How familiar are you with saturated fat? As a nutrition expert, I pretty much lose sight of the fact that many people probably don’t give it the attention it deserves.
So, how well do you know saturated fats?
1. Do you know the recommended daily limits and why?
2. Do you know the diseases linked to saturated fats?
3. Do you know which foods are high and low in saturated fats?
If you answered no… then read on.
1. You want to keep sat fat to 10% of calories or less. If you are eating 2000 cals a day this is about 200 cals of sat fat or about 20 grams a day. That’s not a lot people.
2. The most common diseases linked to sat fat are heart disease, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and now colon cancer (see study below).
3. High fat meat and dairy, butter, coconut oil, and palm oil (and fried foods depending on the oil used) are all high in saturated fat. Go for the leanest meats and cut off any visible fat before cooking. Avoid processed fatty meats like bacon and sausage. Go for low fat dairy like 50% reduced fat Cabot cheese, 1% cottage cheese, skim milk, and skim string cheese. Limit butter intake and use oilve/canola oil which actually protects the heart. Foods low in saturated fat include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and nuts. Go figure!
Here’s the study on saturated fat and cancer.
Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Subar AF, Thompson FE, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A.
A Prospective Study of Meat and Fat Intake in Relation to Small
Intestinal Cancer.
Cancer Res. 2008 Nov 15;68(22):9274-9279.
PMID: 19010900
Abstract
Diets high in red and processed meats are associated with carcinogenesis
of the large intestine, but no prospective study has examined meat and
fat intake in relation to cancer of the small intestine.
We prospectively investigated meat and fat intakes, estimated from a
food frequency questionnaire, in relation to small intestinal cancer
among half a million men and women enrolled in the NIH-AARP Diet and
Health Study. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate
hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
During up to 8 years of follow-up, 60 adenocarcinomas and 80 carcinoid
tumors of the small intestine were diagnosed. Despite slightly elevated
HRs for red meat, there were no clear associations for red or processed
meat intake and either adenocarcinoma or carcinoid tumors of the small
intestine. In contrast, we noted a markedly elevated risk for carcinoid
tumors of the small intestine with saturated fat intake in both the
categorical (highest versus lowest tertile: HR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.62-6.25)
and continuous data (HR, 3.72; 95% CI, 1.79-7.74 for each 10-g increase
in intake per 1,000 kcal).
Our findings suggest that the positive associations for meat intake
reported in previous case-control studies may partly be explained by
saturated fat intake.