Saturation Nation

by Mike Gavareski

Red meat, eggs, and high-fat dairy products are all part of a disastrous health recipe, right? Well, yes, but only if you’re worried about the Y2K bug as well. The year is 2010, and the fear of saturated fat and cholesterol should no longer keep us awake at night. What once were thought to add pounds to a mid-section, the aforementioned nutrients do nothing of the sort, so says an array of more recent evidence.

The triple threat – cancer, heart disease, and diabetes – are all linked to weight and waist size. Both a higher weight as well as a larger girth of their waist correlates with a greater risk of the so-called triple threat. But don’t decrease your saturated fat intake! Well, you can if you want, but it won’t do any good. Two recent studies have shown that red meat, eggs, and high-fat dairy products do not increase the risk of these three factors. One study (tracking breast cancer in more than 319,000 women) showed that there was no link between breast cancer and foods with high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. The second study (examining both men and women) showed that waist circumference was inversely related to a diet rich in red meat, high-fat dairy products, vegetables, and even butter. The same study also showed a positive correlation between waist circumference and diets consisting of processed meat, potatoes, and snack foods.

So what should you do? Don’t worry about saturated fat and cholesterol, as long as it’s coming from the right sources. Eat meat. Eat red meat. Eat chicken. Eat eggs. But make sure it’s organic and grass-fed red beef, or free-range poultry. The dairy products you eat should come from the same, healthy, well-fed cattle. As long as your sources of these saturated fats and cholesterol are pure sources, the pounds will stay off, and you’ll benefit from an influx of high-quality protein, minerals, and antioxidants.