The deadly truth about the AHA’s dietary advice

It’s rare that a day goes by where I don’t tell you to eat more fat. So while I’ve never shied away from beating a dead horse, I almost didn’t write about the following story.

But for a change, the mainstream media actually picked this one up — declaring that it’s “bound to stir up the nutrition industry” — and to my amazement, I saw it just about everywhere.

So of course, now I just can’t resist. In case you missed it, get a load of this…

A large study just linked high fat intake with a lower risk of death. And yes, that includes high intake of saturated fat — mainstream nutrition’s favorite scapegoat for the last half-century.

Well, I guess I can just close up shop now. My job is done! I’ve been fighting to get this message out there for so long, and finally, the truth has won the day.

Just kidding! You know it’s never that easy. There are people who will continue to refuse to believe what’s right there before their own two eyes — and they’re not backing down anytime soon.

So let’s take a look…

The Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological Study — better known as PURE — followed nearly a quarter million people from 18 countries for seven years. And among its many noteworthy findings, it linked high carbohydrate consumption with higher risk of death. (Though it didn’t distinguish between processed and unprocessed carbs — and it really didn’t have to, because they’re all bad for you, period.)

The study also showed that eating more fruit and veggies had a benefit — greater when eaten raw, rather than cooked, as you could imagine. But this benefit maxed out at about three to four servings a day.

Which means — surprise! — you won’t keel over and die if you don’t swear off all animal products and cramming yourself full of kale all day.

To stay healthy, you just need to eat a balanced diet featuring meat, fish, veggies, fewer carbohydrates… and more saturated fat.

Yes, you read that right.

Believe it or not, the senior author of this study states that “saturated fat in moderation actually appears to be good for you.”

In fact, according to PURE, diets that were lower in saturated fat were more harmful. Suggesting that current guidelines — ones that push for total fat below 30 percent of total calorie intake, and saturated fat below 10 percent — simply aren’t supported by data.

Well, you don’t say! I don’t know about you, but I will be bracing for the inevitable controversy. Because there’s no way the cardiology community — which clings to the dogma surrounding saturated fat with a particular passion — is going to take this news lying down.

In fact, the American Heart Association just doubled down on their nonsense not too long ago — recommending that people start replacing the saturated fat in their diet with polyunsaturated fat or carbohydrates.

The goal: To limit saturated fat to a mere six percent of total calorie intake — less than half of what PURE found to be the lowest levels of saturated fat you could safely consume every day.

Because apparently, the AHA has no need for the best evidence. They’ll just keep preaching from the same pulpit built on bad science all the way back in the 1980s, thank you very much. Never mind that following this advice might actually kill you.

The gall it requires to continue peddling this nonsense takes my breath away. So I will let the following quote from PURE’s authors speak for me:

“For now, despite some caveats, the PURE study’s findings broadly support the notion that reducing total fat intake may be unwarranted and that replacing saturated fat intake with carbohydrates is not a good recipe for cardiovascular health.”

All I can say is, amen to that.

 

 

Source:

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/884937


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