On a Related Note…
Yet more evidence — in this case a meta-study — disproving the link between dietary fats, especially saturated fats, and heart disease. The study found no increases in heart disease among people who consumed more saturated fat. More interesting still, the study found no decreases in heart among people who consumed more unsaturated fats. Very interesting indeed, and a bolster to those who believe that heart disease is more a factor of our genes than our diets.
Long time Joe Pastry readers know I’ve been beating this drum for a while, but it’s always nice to have a little validation. Do studies like these mean it’s OK to pig out on butter and steak? Of course not. Modern-day humans eat too much, that’s clear, and while fat may not literally clog your arteries it still has plenty of calories. But food phobias do no one any good. People trying to lose weight and be healthy still need a little joy in the diet. Or so says I. I’m waiting for the meta-study that bears that out.
That is depressing news! Simply because biology then becomes destiny.
Hey Malini!
It depends on how you look at it I think. You can do an awful like to combat heart disease aside from just avoiding saturated fat: avoiding smoking, exercising, cutting stress, eating a balanced diet…just because that one avenue doesn’t seem to have an effect doesn’t mean we can’t have an impact on our own health. Also we’re lucky that we live in an age where there are a lot of very effective medications and therapies to treat heart disease. I guess I find all that kind of liberating. No more wasted time obsessing over butter when my energies are better used elsewhere!
Cheers,
– Joe