• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
  • STEPS Virtual
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • 615.269.8844

STEPS Fitness

Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center

  • STEPS Virtual
  • Programs
    • STEPS Fitness Presents Events
    • DR. Irv’s Perfect Exercise Minute
    • Training Packages
    • Group Offerings
    • Corporate Wellness
    • Traveler’s Special
  • Personal Trainers
    • Dr. Irv Rubenstein
  • Testimonials
  • Fitness Blog
    • Dr Irv’s Fitness Blog
    • Exercise of the Month
  • Newsletters
    • Fit Happens
    • Real News Newsletter
  • Search

October 31, 2016 By Irv Rubenstein

Is Butter Really Better (or Even Good) for You?

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

It wasn’t too long ago that we wrote in this newsletter about the big news in fatty food guidelines: that some saturated fats are not only ok to eat but even healthy for the heart.

Headlines in the media touted the newfound benefits of butter and bacon fat.

 

At the expense of oversimplifying, after over 50 years of federal and medical organizations’ (such as the American Heart Association) recommendations to avoid fats for healthier hearts, a 2014 meta-analysis determined that obesity and heart disease ramped up as a result of fat avoidance in favor of carbs.

Is Butter Really Better (or Even Good) for You?But this study failed to consider all the evidence and misstated the evidence that was there, according to a review in the Cooper Institute’s (Dallas, TX) January 2016 online newsletter.

There are 4 basic types of fat: poly- and mono-unsaturated (good ones), saturated (okay ones) and transfats (bad ones.) When someone determined that saturated fats were associated with heart disease back in the 1950s, a movement pushed for replacing them with hydrogenated, man-made, transfats. Hence, margarine was born.

As the 1970s rolled in, with distance running (the aerobics movement started by Ken Cooper) grabbing attention, the high-carb fad hit; runners needed carbs for fuel so dieters thought they needed them to look like lean runners. As heart disease rates escalated, fats got even more demonized.

Current thinking based on years of analysis of data has pointed the finger at carbs, especially the simple ones that were substituted into processed foods to make them more palatable. The 2014 study moved the needle back toward more fats with recommendations to consume more poly- and mono-unsaturated and to not fret about saturated.

Yet the data show the fallacy of that last point: a 27+ yr study of over 127,000 people found “that replacing 5% of total energy intake from saturated fats with an equivalent number of calories from polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, or whole grains was associated with a significant decrease in risk of CHD” (coronary heart disease).

In essence, replacing saturated fats with simple carbs is unhealthy and weighty. Better to replace with healthy sources of fat or carbs (veggies or whole grains).

Related Posts:

  • Part 1: The Diet-Obesity Debates Continue
    Part 1: The Diet-Obesity Debates Continue
  • REAL News - January 2022
    REAL News - January 2022
  • REAL News - November 2020
    REAL News - November 2020
  • REAL News - June 2021
    REAL News - June 2021
  • REAL News - July  2022
    REAL News - July 2022
  • REAL News - October 2022
    REAL News - October 2022
  • REAL News - September 2021
    REAL News - September 2021
  • REAL News - May 2021
    REAL News - May 2021

Comments

comments

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: butter, coronary heart disease, fats, mono saturated

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

FREE Consultation!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

  • Exercise of the Month
  • Fit Happens
  • Fitness Blog
  • General News
  • Newsletters
  • Real News
  • Trainers

Tags

achieve well-being aging Alzheimer's disease barefoot running body fat bone density breast cancer burn off excess weight calories cardio cardiovascular childhood obesity coronavirus covid diabetes diet dieting eating disorders Exercise exercise intensity field of health or exercise science fitness flexibility functional fitness health Heart Health higher risk of obesity lose weight mental health musculoskeletal improvements obesity physical activity physically active protein reduce your risk of falling resistance training running Senior Training slows cognitive decline strength training Stretching training weight loss Weight loss vs Exercise gain weight management

Recent News

Mar 01

REAL News – March 2023

Feb 01

REAL News – February 2023

Jan 15

Fit Happens – Winter 2023

Jan 01

REAL News – January 2023

Dec 01

REAL News – December 2022

Reviews

Search Our Directory

Footer Widget Header

Affiliations

  • american-college-of-sports-medicine
  • american-council-on-exercise
  • biometrics
  • exercise-etc-inc
  • national-strength-and-conditioning-association
  • renewed-support

STEPS Fitness | 2424 21st Ave. S. Suite #100 | Nashville, TN 37212 | 615.269.8844 p

© 2023 Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center | Designed by Ponder Consulting ®

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok