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For many reasons, I love to sweep my floors. It’s a nightly ritual that’s not too hard, makes my kitchen look super-clean, and helps keep pests out. But in my years of sweeping, there’s one step I haven’t managed to perfect: picking up the last little pile. I don’t know about you, but I have yet to find a combination of dust pan and broom that doesn’t leave a trail of grit in its wake.
Could I be doing it wrong?
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After reviewing four major studies, the American Heart Association (AHA) recently issued a “presidential advisory” stating that saturated fats, including coconut oil, should be avoided, recommending that they be replaced with polyunsaturated fats like canola oil, soybean oil, and corn oil (1). A presidential advisory is a report initiated by the AHA president to “address a topic of special current importance.” While this has been all over the news, the report is really nothing new. In fact, the AHA has consistently recommended the reduction in dietary saturated fat to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease since 1961 (2, 3).
I’ve previously written an extensive report on why saturated fat does not cause heart disease. I’m not going to rehash all of that in this article, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t. Instead, this article will zero in on the issues with this particular advisory and focus on the coconut oil claims in particular.
There have been at least 17 systematic reviews and meta-analyses conducted in recent years that have not found a clear link between saturated fat consumption and heart disease. The authors themselves note in the introduction:
“In the past few years, meta-analyses of observational studies and randomized clinical trials have come to discordant conclusions about the relationship between dietary saturated fat and risk of CVD” (1).
They then proceed to pick four core studies (4, 5, 6, 7) from these meta-analyses that they deemed to be most “well performed.” This is certainly not the first time that cherry-picking has occurred in the history of saturated fat or nutrition research. You might recall the famous “seven countries study” in which Ancel Keys, father of the saturated fat–heart disease hypothesis, picked seven of 22 countries to demonstrate an initial relationship between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease (8).
Furthermore, the publication dates of these four core studies were 1969, 1970, 1968, and 1979! The authors report that no definitive large-scale clinical trials have been conducted since then, which is true, but this represents a major public health issue. If we continue to pull up the results of the same old studies year after year to shape today’s nutrition recommendations, the AHA will continue to promote 40-year-old nutritional science for the next several decades.
Worried about the AHA’s statement on saturated fat? Don’t be.
Unfortunately, nutritional sciences are rife with industry influence, and the AHA is no exception. While the AHA is a nonprofit organization, it receives significant funds from industry leaders. Representatives from companies like Nestlé, Coca-Cola, The Sugar Association, the United Soybean Board, and the US Canola Association also serve on its “Industry Nutrition Advisory Panel.” From the AHA website:
“The American Heart Association’s Industry Nutrition Advisory Panel (INAP) is a unique, strategic relationship between the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee and food industry leaders. In existence since 1995, INAP provides a platform for open dialogue, sharing of information and planning cooperative programs in areas of mutual interest such as diet and nutrition and cardiovascular disease” (emphasis mine).
You can easily imagine how a few pushy industry leaders might be able to influence AHA recommendations.
Furthermore, in interpreting the findings of any study used to inform human health, it’s important to distinguish between statistical significance and clinical significance (9). In statistics, we say that a result is significant when the observed difference between treatment groups is extremely unlikely to have occurred by chance. For example, one group might have slightly higher cholesterol than another group. Clinical significance, on the other hand, is the practical importance of the observed difference in treatments. For example, does this difference actually cause heart disease?
In this case, the authors looked at clinical significance by assessing the number of actual cardiovascular events, but only for a handful of studies. The remainder of their report was built around changes in LDL cholesterol, which is only a risk factor for heart disease. They present several studies that observed changes in cholesterol ranging from 0.6 to 2.1 mg/dL after altering saturated fat intake. Yes, this is statistically significant, but can that tiny change in cholesterol make a difference in the number of clinical outcomes?
Consider the variability of cholesterol tests. One research group took repeated blood samples from the same people for cholesterol analysis over several days, without any intervention. They found that LDL cholesterol fluctuated more than 20 percent (about 17 mg/dL) in 95 percent of subjects and more than 40 percent in 45 percent of subjects (10). In other words, you could get your cholesterol tested today and be told you are in perfect health and get tested tomorrow and be recommended statins.
LDL-Cholesterol versus LDL-Particle Number
Additionally, the AHA report only discusses LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). One study found that of 136,905 coronary artery disease hospitalizations, almost half of patients presented with normal LDL-C (11). The number of LDL particles (LDL-P) is a much stronger predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than LDL cholesterol, and it’s possible to have normal LDL-C and high LDL-P (12, 13, 14). Preliminary studies comparing lipid profiles after subjects followed a low-carb, high-fat diet and a high-carb, low-fat diet suggest that saturated fat does not increase LDL-P (15).
The report next turns to a number of studies suggesting that saturated fat feeding in rodent and primate models results in the development of atherosclerosis. However, there are major differences in lipid metabolism between humans and rodents, and even between humans and nonhuman primates. This is a major problem with animal nutrition research.
This book chapter provides an excellent review on the evolution of human lipid metabolism:
“To accommodate the high energy demands of our large brains, humans consume diets that are of much higher quality (i.e., more dense in energy and fat) than those of our primate kin (Leonard and Robertson, 1992, 1994). On average, we consume higher levels of dietary fat than other primates (Popovich et al., 1997).”
The need for an energy-rich diet also appears to have shaped our ability to detect and metabolize high-fat foods. […] compared to large-bodied apes, humans have an enhanced capacity to digest and metabolize higher fat diets. Our gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with its expanded small intestine and reduced colon, is quite different from those of chimpanzees and gorillas and is consistent with the consumption of a high-quality diet with large amounts of animal food (Milton, 1987). Finch and Stanford (2004) have recently shown that the evolution of key “meat-adaptive” genes in hominid evolution were critical to promoting enhanced lipid metabolism necessary for subsisting on diets with greater levels of animal material” (16).
Simply put, we need to be very careful about translating results from animal models of lipid metabolism to humans.
It’s also worth noting that field studies of 20th-century hunter–gatherers found them to be largely free of cardiovascular disease symptoms and risk factors. This is despite consuming a diet that is 28 to 58 percent fat by energy, with as much as half of this coming from saturated fat (17).
Several studies have shown benefits of a modern Paleolithic-type diet on lipid profile and cardiovascular risk factors (18, 19, 20). However, most of these studies are using a Paleolithic diet that is actually lower in saturated fat than the control group. Because of this, I turned to ketogenic diets to determine the influence of very-high-fat diets on cardiovascular risk.
In a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, after six weeks of a ketogenic diet, fasting serum total and LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL were unchanged, but HDL cholesterol tended to increase (21). This suggests a more favorable lipid profile, though due to small sample size and short duration, clinical significance could not be determined.
Bringing our discussion back to coconut oil, the claims made in the AHA report simply don’t stand up to research. It appears the authors performed the following logic:
Premise: 4 core studies from the 1960s and ’70s → saturated fat causes heart disease
Premise: coconut oil has a high content of saturated fat
Conclusion: coconut oil causes heart disease and should be avoided
This logic relies on some faulty assumptions, namely that saturated fat causes heart disease (it doesn’t) and that all saturated fats are the same (they’re not).
Most importantly, studies have shown that coconut oil:
So, to sum up, don’t stress about eating coconut oil. The stress is probably more likely to give you heart disease!
Did you like this article? Will you continue to eat coconut oil? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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I’m thrilled to introduce the launch of an exciting new direction for our educational and publishing ambitions here at Primal Blueprint: The Primal Endurance comprehensive online multimedia educational mastery course. Quite simply, this endeavor brings the Primal Endurance book to life with a robust library of instructional and interview videos, audio content, and digital books based on content in the Primal Endurance book and podcast.
Like our Primal Health Coach course, your course enrollment avails you to an online portal where all the content is thoughtfully organized and easy to navigate. You’ll be able to stream or download the Primal Endurance book and audio book, numerous other eBooks and audio programs, and access a massive library of videos consisting of interviews with the world’s leading endurance athletes, coaches and trainers—as well as leading experts in health, science and medicine.
There are over 120 videos in this course, hitting you from every direction with impactful content to help you achieve the primary objective of the Primal Endurance approach: escape chronic cardio and become a fat burning beast!
Brad Kearns, my co-author on Primal Endurance, hosts the online course. He traveled the continent conducting the expert interviews, and also walks you through the entire content of the book in carefully structured, bite-sized videos aligned with the book chapters. If you’re too busy to read or if you like to augment your book knowledge with video instruction, this course is for you. Here are just a few examples of the valuable video content:
Chapter by chapter presentation of the book content, consisting of both lectures and practical instruction. You’ll get everything from step-by-step recipe videos, running technique instruction and drills, swim technique instruction and drills, and a series of “Finishing Touches” videos giving you concise marching orders to become healthy, happy, stress-balanced, fat-adapted Primal Endurance athlete.
It’s no secret that endurance athletes struggle from over-training syndrome, difficulty reducing excess body fat, and dietary patterns that promote carbohydrate dependency. The Primal Endurance Mastery Course liberates you from these hazards so you can pursue ambitious goals while preserving your health and maintaining a balanced life. You’ll follow a simple, enjoyable, intuitive approach that is less stressful, less exhausting, and that enables you to go faster on less total training time.
In the process, you will enjoy an effortless reduction of excess body fat that is so elusive when you train in the old chronic cardio/carbohydrate dependency paradigm. Instead of doggedly following rigid schedules and weekly mileage obligations, you’ll become flexible and empowered to always make the best decisions to protect your health and build fitness.
No more frustration with recurring illness, injury, and burnout episodes that leave you discouraged! The simple, commonsense principles of Primal living and training are appropriate for all enthusiasts—from elite professionals to raw beginners.
If you want to see what the course is all about before pulling the trigger, Brad Kearns has created a series of videos called “9 Steps to Becoming a Primal Endurance athlete.”
This content will give you a good feel for what the course material covers, but you will be absolutely blown away at the volume of content in your digital library, especially the exclusive, in-depth interviews from some of the greatest endurance athletes of all time and also some of the leading health, performance and medical experts in the endurance scene, particularly the burgeoning fat-adapted and keto endurance scene.
You can also check out the Primal Endurance Facebook Group if you want to engage with Primal Endurance enthusiasts. This is a private space to share thoughts openly, and to get input and support from others as you embark on this journey to living and training Primally.
Are you ready to gain mastery over the challenges of endurance training? I’m offering this course—with lifetime access to all the resources here PLUS ongoing members-only support and additional educational materials we add over time—for a special introductory rate you won’t want to miss. It’s limited time only, so don’t wait! And just to sweeten the deal, I’m throwing in a free pack of my PRIMAL KITCHEN® Coconut-Cashew Bars for the first 100 people who sign up.
Want to learn more? Check out more about the course here. This course is near and dear to my heart, folks. I can’t wait for you to join me and see what we can make possible for your training success and lifelong health. Thanks, as always, for your support.
The post Introducing the Primal Endurance Mastery Course! appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
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Whether you’re getting married or shopping for the happy couple, chances are you’ve heard of Zola. The company launched in 2013 and quickly rose to fame as one of the top go-to registry sites.
Here’s what you need to know about registering on the site or just shopping on it.
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Welcome to Kitchn’s Food Budget Diaries series, where we show you how people around the country spend money on what they eat and drink. Each post will follow one person for one week and will chronicle everything that person consumed and how much it costs them.
Name: Sarah Martin
Location: Bentonville, AR
Age: 25
Number of people in family: Me and my fiancé, Matt, and our two pups, Calvin and Sally
Occupation: Me (Project Manager), Matt (Inventory Manager).
Household income: $85,000
Weekly food budget: $100 (we also budget $200 each month for eating out).
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Wine snobbery is not something I take part in. I don’t always taste the oak in a chardonnay, I have a hard time pronouncing the names of most fancy vineyards, and I always feel like a putz when I swirl the glass before I take a sip.
That said, I drink a lot of wine. As you may have guessed, I’m not discerning — I’ll usually drink whatever is around or whatever is inexpensive (and easily accessible) at the wine store across the street. I do like some wines more than others, of course. And there is one that I will be surrounding myself with for the rest of the summer (er, let’s be honest, year): the new rosé from Josh Cellars.
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Cobbler is one of those scrappy recipes beloved for its ability to transform fresh fruit and pantry staples into a well-loved dessert, while simultaneously being un-screw-up-able. Although, like many casual desserts, cobbler can be mastered or ruined by just a few key choices. Today, we’re going to tackle the six most common things you shouldn’t do so your cobbler turns out beautifully every time.
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(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)
I’ve long heard that keeping baking soda in your fridge eliminates odors, and I’ve pretty much always had a box open in the fridge — not exactly switching it out every 30 days, like you’re apparently supposed to, but just leaving it in there with the lid open.
And it’s seemed to have worked: My fridge has never been particularly stinky. Recently, though, I tossed my old box of baking soda and didn’t replace it. Things haven’t been particularly stinky since then, either, so I started to wonder if the baking soda had been doing anything all along.
I took to the internet. The results are not just inconclusive, but surprisingly divisive! Some people absolutely swear by using baking soda to eliminate odors — anecdotes abound of people using baking soda to freshen up not just fridges and freezers, but diaper pails, garbage cans, litter boxes, and more. Others fervently call the idea of using baking soda to absorb odors a myth.
Which side is right?
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If I learned one thing about growing up with a pool in the backyard, it’s that your house will almost always be the spot for get-togethers with friends and family all summer long. And that is just fine, because pool parties are one of the very best ways to spend those steamy summer afternoons.
Of course, with any good pool party comes a spread of simple yet delicious food that will satisfy everyone from the young to the young at heart. This menu feeds six to eight people comfortably and most everything is prepped the day before, so all that’s left are a few finishing touches before everyone arrives. We’ve even included a timeline on exactly how you can pull this together in advance.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
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