Foods high in saturated fats have been demonized for some time now, with high intake linked to heart disease and a variety of other health conditions, including obesity. But slowly we seem to be realizing that perhaps their “unhealthy” label has been prematurely and unfairly slapped on, and avoiding them could actually be leading to unforeseen problems.
Adding to this growing body of evidence, scientists have now discovered that one particular saturated fat may actually protect against metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors – elevated blood pressure, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol levels and excess belly fat – that can lead to diabetes. And how did they come to this conclusion? Studying dolphins.
That may sound strange at first glance, but there is method behind the madness. Bottlenose dolphins can also develop metabolic syndrome, so researchers from the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) reasoned that we may be able to learn something about this subclinical condition by examining their diet. More specifically, they wanted to see if they could identify potential protective factors that could translate to our own diet.
To relate this to humans, the researchers examined various food products for heptadecanoic acid levels, which is known to be present in things like dairy fat, rye and certain fish. They found that butter, whole milk and yoghurt contained the highest amounts, whereas it was undetectable in nonfat dairy products.
Full story from here.
OK many of us are beyond saving as far as becoming a diabetic is concerned, but clearly using these foods can do us nothing but good, and may help in our quest to at least reverse the main symptom namely high BG numbers. One thing we can take as read, the vilification of healthy natural fats was and is a complete disaster for hundreds of millions of people.
Eddie
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