Hi guys, just wanted to do a quick post today about saturated fats. They have been demonised for a long time now - most people just think they are bad because they make you fat, but they are actually good! let me explain..'Back in the day', people were told that if you increased your intake of saturated fat, that would lead to an increase in cholesterol, and that would then lead to an increased risk of heart disease. That makes sense right? more fat - higher risk of heart problems. It's not entirely true. If you are someone that doesn't exercise, doesn't have an active job, sits around a lot, and then you start eating saturated fat, yes - you will gain fat and it can lead to health issues. But is that the saturated fats' fault?? I don't believe it is. Saturated fat is actually important to human bodily function. For example - it can help to improve your immune system and your bones need saturated fat to maintain good health, so if you cut out all saturated fat, then you will have a higher risk of bone related problems such as osteoporosis. Now, I'm not saying that all saturated fats are good. If you pop down to your local takeaway and think 'hmm, Lee said it's fine to have saturated fats, bring them on!', that is not what I mean at all.
Here is a question for you - what is your brain made of?? any guesses? I'll tell you, it's made of fat and cholesterol (and a few other bits and bobs). So if you go on a super low fat diet (which may seem healthy) your concentration, focus and overall mood will drop, because in a way you are (a little bit) starving your brain. Look at it this way, your muscles are made up of proteins - you want to 'get stacked', what do you do nutrition wise? you eat a lot of protein. To be honest, a number of organs need fats (including saturated fats) in order to function properly, those include the brain (above) lungs and liver. Now you maybe realising just how important fats are and saturated fats are. As mentioned above, saturated fat is needed for bone health, as it is required for the intake of calcium to bone. Who tends to have problem with bones? older people, why? because they are worried about their intake of fats as they are older and their metabolism has slowed down and they can't exercise how they used too. The problem with this, is by avoiding certain foods (such as saturated fats) other things can go wrong. I completely, 100% get it, it sounds crazy to think eating saturated fats means you are healthy, but it does. The one thing that I want to seriously stress to you guys reading this, is that you have to be SMART! there is no point eating saturated fats if you are lazy day in, day out. Everything with health is a balancing act, and you need to balance out your fat intake to your activity levels.
Bodybuilders consume a lot of fats, and are they fat? hell no! they have like 3-6% body fat! How is that possible you ask? because they train very hard, they are very active, and they are strict with their nutrition. I myself am not a bodybuilder and am never going to go down that path, but I do compare nutrition with them, because they are very healthy in fact (the ones who train and eat properly that is). They don't eat junk food, they don't eat processed food, they don't get drunk every week, they are extremely good with their nutrition (I will be doing a post about bodybuilding nutrition in the near future).
I'm not saying you can eat tons of saturated fat (even good sources) a day, that would be stupid. I would say anywhere from 15-50g per day depending on your goals (health/bodybuilding/sport etc). The great thing about nutrition is that everyone is different and you can work out what you need for you, so experiment!
So, if you can't eat junk food for the fat content, what fats are good?
Saturated fats that are good are - butter, coconut oil, egg yolk, beef, pork, cheese, milk, wild salmon
Always check where your food comes from! junk food/cheap garbage/processed foods - all BAD!
Grass fed meats/organic/fresh - GOOD!
Lee Gregory Fitness
