Fat Part 2 – Saturated Fat
I seem to be faced with a bit of a predicament when it comes to saturated fat.
Dr. David Perlmutter in his book “Grain Brain,” Mark Sisson in “The New Primal Blueprint” and Dr Dale Bredesen, author of “The End of Alzheimer’s,” all extol the benefits of saturated fat. They say the human species has evolved to eat this fat and doing so has countless benefits. “The truth is, we thrive on saturated fats,” Permutter writes. He says these fats play a crucial role in how the human body functions and stays healthy, noting 50 percent of a cellular membrane is comprised of saturated fat, and it contributes to the structure and function of the lungs, heart, bones, liver and immune system.
“[W]hile the synthetic trans fats found in margarine and processed foods are poisonous, we know now that monounsaturated fats – such as the fat found in avocados, olives, and nuts – are healthy,” he writes. “We also know that polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in cold-water fish (e.g., salmon) and some plants (e.g., flaxseed oil) are deemed ‘good.’ But what about natural saturated fats such as those found in meat, egg yolks, cheese, and butter? … [W]e need saturated fat, and our body has long been designed to handle the consumption of natural sources of it – even in high amounts.”
Sisson says eating animal meat and the saturated fat that comes with it, contrary to popular belief, helps to reduce excess body fat, builds lean muscle mass and helps people achieve peak performance. Eating animals – meat, fish, fowl and eggs – supports “accelerated brain development – our distinguishing feature that brought humans to the top of the food chain.”
“Remarkably, about 500 calories a day are required just to fuel the human brain (both primitive and modern brains),” he continues. “Anthropological evidence strongly suggests that it was saturated fats, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids from animal foods that provided both the raw materials and the energy necessary for the human brain to grow larger and more sophisticated through evolution.”
Bredesen, however, in his recommended Ketoflex12/3 diet, a part of his ReCODE protocol to prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s disease, says meat consumption should be limited to just a few ounces a week (eggs are just fine to go hog-wild) and dairy should be limited, if not all together avoided. But he still says eating saturated fat along with healthy unsaturated fats found in seeds, nuts and avocados helps the body achieve ketosis, which is optimal for cognitive function. He specifically touts the advantages of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, a type of saturated fat found in coconuts.
“Consuming fats such as MCT oil … promote mild ketosis,” he writes. “This will switch your metabolism from carbohydrate-burning and insulin resistant, which promotes Alzheimer’s disease, to fat burning and insulin sensitive, which helps prevent it. Remember: As metabolism goes, so goes cognition.”
So what’s my predicament? Bredesen goes on to say saturated fat can have “draw backs” for those of us unlucky enough to have inherited the Alzheimer’s gene, ApoE4. He then says he’ll explain why in greater detail later in the book – which, as far as I can find, he never does! He recommends ApoE4 carriers to view saturated fat as a “temporary crutch” to ease the transition from carb addicted to fat adapted and then switch to unsaturated fats, only allowing small amounts of saturated every once in a while. But he never says why this is necessary! As someone who is not in the habit of blindly following someone’s advice simply because he or she is a supposed expert on the subject, I was not at all pleased. I have read the book cover to cover twice and am almost a third of the way through my third read and have skipped around numerous times trying to find an explanation without success. I did, however eventually find a sort of roundabout explanation that may have cleared things up. But he also, frustratingly, may have contradicted himself a bit. This is what he wrote:
“The problem with saturated fat occurs when it is combined with sugars or other simple carbohydrates and lack of fiber. If you are keeping up your fiber intake and minimizing simple carbohydrates, then saturated fat is not usually a problem. But if you want to minimize your consumption of saturated fat, use the MCT oil for the first several weeks of the program, … [and] then switch to other forms of fats, such as extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, and avocados. That will keep your LDL [low-density lipoprotein cholesterol] particle number healthy, your small dense LDL in the healthy range, and your oxidized LDL in the healthy range. It’s the best of both worlds, with mild ketosis, conversion to fat-based metabolism, and healthy lipid profile.”
“Not usually a problem.” Does he mean it can be a problem for ApoE4 carriers, even if they make sure to eat minimal sugar/refined carbs? Or do they not have to worry about it as long as they maintain that diet? Very frustrating.
As I’ve explained in my posts on cholesterol, LDL, also known as “bad” cholesterol, isn’t bad at all in its healthy, natural state. It becomes bad, contributing to cognitive decline along with a slew of other health issues, when it turns small and dense and oxidizes. This, Bredesen says, is caused by eating a diet high in sugar and grain/refined carbs. Does having the ApoE4 gene also increase the chance of oxidation? He never really says! He recommends testing LDL particle number and oxidized and small dense LDL numbers in addition to the traditional LDL/HDL test because just checking your total LDL isn’t going to tell you if it’s healthy or oxidized.
Eating a diet somewhat high in saturated fat (coconut and its oil are two of my favorite things on the planet!) has caused my total cholesterol to climb from 119 to 153 and my LDL to jump from 46 to 76. I actually desperately needed to increase my cholesterol because Bredesen stresses that total cholesterol below 150 dramatically increases one’s chances for developing Alzheimer’s. So I was quite happy with that number jump. I asked my doctor last summer, however, about the additional LDL tests. She had never heard of them before and said I likely would need to see a lipid specialist in some big city to get them. I decided to let the matter drop for now. I figured my total cholesterol was still rather low, so I probably didn’t really need to worry about it. But do I?
Despite my healthy diet and my now almost ideal cholesterol numbers (I’d like them to be a bit higher still), the ApoE4 gene is a scary thing, and Bredesen’s warning rings in my ears. It makes me want to (although I really don’t want to) limit saturated fat just to be on the safe side, even though Bredesen never fully explains why. I haven’t quite taken that step yet. My first step was to instead increase my fiber intake.
I recently realized I may have been short on fiber due to slacking a bit on my vegetable intake and cutting grains entirely on the keto diet. So I’ve started freshly grinding 2 tablespoons of chia seeds everyday for the last week and a half or so and sprinkling it on everything I eat. Tiny chia seeds pack 8 grams of fiber in 2 tablespoons, along with many other beneficial nutrients, and only have 1 gram of non-fiber carbohydrates. (Flax seeds also are a great fiber/omega-3 source.) I’ve already noticed some improvement in my gut health because of this, and I plan to up it to 3 tablespoons in the near future and see how I do in both gut health and keeping my LDL cholesterol in a reasonable range.
From there, I may try to limit the saturated animal fat I eat, and perhaps eventually cut back a bit on coconut oil. I already greatly limit my dairy, but I’m just not willing to fully give up my butter and cheese. And eggs, another source of saturated fat and a downright wonderful food (Perlmutter says it may be the world’s most perfect food), no way, I am not cutting back on those! I think it all boils down to finding the right balance of fiber and saturated fat while keeping a close watch on my cholesterol. I may just have to track down a doctor/lab that can perform the LDL tests Bredesen recommends. These would truly tell me if I’m on the right track.