This week has been pretty confusing for anyone wondering what to spread on their sandwiches or cook their steak in as more claims about butter and fats hit the headlines. It can be hard to know what\u2019s true when the press spread their version of Broscience across the media. We\u2019ve had a dig into some of the recent articles highlighting the relationship between sat fat and health issues and tried to drill down to the truth.<\/p>\n
In The News<\/strong>: This week new research undertaken by the British Heart Foundation revealed that butter could be no worse for your heart than low-fat spreads. Their research looked at 600,000 people from 18 different countries and found no definite link between saturated fats and heart problems.<\/p>\n It had previously been thought that butter, rich in saturated fat, increased the risk of heart disease by increasing blood cholesterol levels. And that \u2018healthy\u2019 polyunsaturated fats like sunflower spreads or olive oil promoted heart health. This latest research has found that these healthy fats are not necessarily good for you.<\/p>\n The Truth<\/strong>: The stats don\u2019t lie, and as the research shows, butter is clearly not as bad for you as was once thought. However, polyunsaturates are getting an undeserved bad rep. All the research shows is that a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats but low in saturated fats doesn\u2019t necessarily reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease – but a diet rich in saturated fats may still increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood. The advice on staying heart healthy still remains as \u201cstop smoking, stay active, and ensure your whole diet is healthy\u201d.<\/p>\n In The News<\/strong>: Due to the findings in the research mentioned above, the tabloids are now saying that sat fat isn’t that bad. Although you shouldn\u2019t gorge yourself on cream and cheese, natural products like butter are good for you, and the alternatives of polyunsaturated fats don\u2019t offer any heart protection – so should be avoided. If it doesn\u2019t clog your arteries, then get stuck in, right?<\/p>\n The Truth<\/strong>: This has all been taken a little out of context. In the 1960\u2019s studies showed that saturated fat increased LDL (bad) cholesterol and people assumed that this would lead to heart disease. It has taken over fifty years for this to be proved an inconsistent theory – not wrong one. It turns out that the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease is a complicated one, and LDL is just one indicator of risk. More important are the levels of \u2018good\u2019 LDL to \u2018bad\u2019 DHL found in the body. So its a good thing to consume fats – in a balanced diet.<\/p>\n The other, slightly obvious thing (but that none of the press articles we\u2019ve found have mentioned!) is that most foods containing sat fats are also bad for your body in terms of nutritional value and calories. Sausages contains lots of sat fat, lots of calories, and not a whole lot of anything good (unless the meat content is very high), whereas fish like salmon contains lots of protein, very little carbs and also a good amount of Omega-3, which has been proven to lower the risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n Fats are not bad for you, although you probably knew that already. And although you may read about how sat fats aren\u2019t bad for you – just remember that they\u2019re not good for you either. So by sticking to lots of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats you\u2019ll be keeping your body in optimum health.<\/p>\n The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is currently reviewing the evidence on carbs and a consultation on new guidelines will begin this summer when we hope that the advice given by many medical professionals, dieticians and die-hard paleo fans will reach a wider, mainstream audience.<\/p>\nDon’t Fear The Fat<\/h2>\n
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BULK POWDERS\u2122 recommends<\/h2>\n