The Truth about Saturated Fat | New Narrative Review

A new Review proposes Saturated Fat is harmless and unfairly demonized. Does this reflect the scientific evidence? A look at the science of saturated fat, safe ranges and controversies.
Saturated fat: villain and bogeyman in cardiovascular disease?
Saturated fat is an emotional topic. Saturated fat raises cardiovascular disease if it's too high.
Saturated fat isn’t bad. Health-promoting foods have Saturated fat.
Replacing Saturated fat replaced with refined carbs doesn't help.
Whole grains lower risk. Unsaturated fats also. PUFA, the lowest.
Source of saturated fat matters. fish has saturated fat but also PUFAs. Dark chocolate is high in Saturated fat but its stearic acid which.
we see benefit of saturated fat moderation in RCTs, usually PUFA is best. MUFA or carb, less consistent.
UK Biobank: no evidence that saturated fat intake was associated with CVD, cardiovascular disease. Replacing saturated fat with MUFA or protein was associated with lower risk of death and CVD.
Replacing saturated fat with starch or sugar (refined carbs) was associated with lower total death.
PUFAs can come in fatty fish, nuts, seeds, vegetable oil, or in junk foods that contain PUFA oils. Saturated fat was associated with lower ischemic heart disease.
saturated fat replaced with PUFA benefits CVD. PUFA consumption in place of saturated fat would reduce CHD.
Linoleic acid replacing saturated fat associated with lower CHD and. Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat prevents CHD
Connect with me:
Facebook: / drgilcarvalho
Twitter: / nutritionmades3
Animations: Even Topland @toplandmedia
References:
1-academic.oup.com/eurjpc/advan...
2-
2015 edition: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26068...
2020 edition: www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/...
3-www.sciencedirect.com/science...
4-www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/...
5-academic.oup.com/ajcn/article...
6-www.acpjournals.org/doi/abs/1...
7-www.lipidjournal.com/article/S1933-2874(09)00332-8/abstract
www.lipidjournal.com/article/...
8-www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/5/2/29...
9-www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/...
10-www.lipidjournal.com/article/...
11-www.sciencedirect.com/science...
12-www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m688
13-www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/17/...
14-academic.oup.com/ajcn/article...
15-www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...
16-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29511...
17-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27543...
18-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25161...
19-journals.plos.org/plosmedicin...
20-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28125...
21-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26746...
22-www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e...
23-www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i...
24-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28526...
25-www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h...
26-foodandnutritionresearch.net/...
27-www.nmcd-journal.com/article/...
28-pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32307...
29-www.clinicalnutritionjournal....
30-www.jacc.org/doi/abs/10.1016/...
31-www.lipidjournal.com/article/...
32-link.springer.com/article/10....
33-food-guide.canada.ca/en/guide...
Disclaimer: The contents of this video are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor to replace medical care. The information presented herein is accurate and conforms to the available scientific evidence to the best of the author's knowledge as of the time of posting. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding any medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information contained in Nutrition Made Simple!.
#NutritionMadeSimple #GilCarvalho
0:00 New Review
0:47 Dose
2:49 Replacement
6:42 Source
8:10 Standing questions
9:25 Rationale
10:00 Epidemiology
21:36 RCTs
23:05 Meta-analyses etc
28:08 The final analysis
32:35 Conclusion of the Review
34:03 Skepticism
34:54 Anatomy of Confusion
36:40 Scientific communication
38:24 The cycle of social media
40:21 Evolution
41:34 Saturated Fat: harmful or neutral?
42:10 Take-home message

[@Vezmus1337]

I think that until we stop talking about isolated nutrients (like Saturated Fat and Carbohydrate) and start talking about the entire food package (Rice vs Twinkies), confusion will abound. Every food is a combination of macronutrients in differing ratios. Most people are not eating isolated protein or drinking olive oil or eating bags of sugar (at least I hope they're not). Even something as simple as "dairy" could cover anything and everything from fat free yogurt to chocolate ice cream. So when someone asks, "Is dairy healthy?" you will get different answers and they are all technically correct. The problem is not that the information is contradictory (or controversial even), but that we aren't asking appropriately specific questions.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

The replacing saturated fats kinda did this. Its been clearly shown that replacing saturated fats whit whole grains is good. Same as replacing them with Omega 6. There is no doubt about this, its been proven again and again.

[@rabbitcreative]

> The problem is not that the information is contradictory (or controversial even), but that we aren't asking appropriately specific questions. This. Also, I think most people fundamentally misunderstand how to properly use language. Word do-not dictate reality. Used appropriately, language is a 'map' each person overlays onto their non-verbal experience. When I look up into the day sky, and I see a bright circle in the air, I think, "sun". But the light I'm experiencing isn't "the sun" or "a sun", that experience is non-verbal. Words follow in the wake of some experience.

[@scienceislove2014]

Well..an animal based stuff has sat fat and trans fat..and so does fried food.. So by your definition. animals products should be deemed really unhealthy...which it really is unless you're a plant centered diet with lil bit if animal product

[@nathanshackelford7812]

Actually that IS the problem. Eating whole unprocessed foods means you are eating them in isolation. Sure you might combine a few unprocessed foods to make a meal. Eating fat and sugar in combination is a bad thing. I eat a couple of servings of fruit in a day but by themselves, never with a meal that also has fat. Then later in the day I eat a meal of animal foods with no sugar. I'm in amazing shape with amazing bloodwork. The problem is people thinking they need to constantly look at numbers. Just stop eating processed food and don't eat sugar and fat in combination and watch good health soar.

[@scienceislove2014]

@@signs80 no .. animal products naturally have trans fat..and that's not a result of heating process.. Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, including beef, lamb and butterfat. This was really basic.. learn it

[@JulienRoigHerr]

I have IBS, and through trying to cure it was exposed to many simplified narratives about nutrition online. Finding your channel was a true eye-opener for me. The work you do here is really very much appreciated. Especially since you are among the rare people that focus on quality over quantity, and actually put several hours of work into each video. One can really tell that you are not just doing this for profit, but to help people like me who are trying to figure things out. Thanks :-)

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

glad to hear it!! we have more content specifically on IBS coming :)

[@JulienRoigHerr]

@@NutritionMadeSimple Looking forward to it!

[@Jizzaprove]

Please could you tell what is the correlation of IBS with the topic? I have saved the vid but hasnt watched yet. Busy schedule this week. Thanks brother

[@JulienRoigHerr]

@@Jizzaprove I am following a ketogenic diet in part for my ibs

[@jimyhendrix492]

@@JulienRoigHerr Does keto help?

[@JackFalltrades]

Health care workers don't always have the best lifestyle. I realize this every time I visit my overweight doctor.

[@becky-hx1ge]

Maybe your Dr is a stress eater.

[@becky-hx1ge]

Americans worry too much about what they eat. In the 90s all fat was evil now sugar is evil. For a while. Poly- unsaturated fats were wonderful now they’re evil it’s constantly changing. I think the thing is just do not over-eat and do not eat too many processed foods. But if you forbid yourself certain foods you are going to start craving them. I have friends that have done the keto diet and they could not stick to it and they gained back more weight than they ever lost and they said they look worse than ever. Only eat when you’re hungry and stop when You get that first full signal. It takes practice. Don’t think you have to “clean your plate”-you’re not a human garbage disposal💕 Many yrs ago I read we should eat 2 meals a day. You could have something to drink in between, just get used to stop the chewing. You will honestly stop obsessing about food. Instead of lunch, clean your closet, run errands, go outside. (I need to heed my own advice, I still have to watch it!) We all know people like Warren Buffett he drinks five sodas a day and he is 93 years old. He’s probably one of the smartest men on the planet. My best friend her grandmother lived to 104 and she had a huge banana split every week, she was known for her fried doughnuts that she fried in lard. She was hilarious, very funny! I watched a video a few years ago of 107-year-old man and his main diet was condensed soup and whole milk. He did attend church regularly which was mostly white and he was African American, but he seemed very happy and loving. He drove his own truck. My MIL lived to 90. She was sharp as a tack. She never drank water only soda or tea or coffee. She was skinny as a rail. She ate pop tarts & breakfast cereals, she did try to eat one good meal a day with meat and vegetables Does anyone remember the nutrition professor (from Kansas, I think)who went on the junk food diet and lost a good bit of weight and all of his Numbers went down. Cholesterol numbers went down just from losing weight. I think that’s the thing don’t be overweight and cutting calories is the only thing that has ever been proven to prolong life. You can look that up, not antioxidants in fact antioxidants have been known to protect cancerous tumors, in the study in 2008 in the United Kingdom, you can look that up too. Harvard also did a study that said people who drank whole milk were thinner than people who drank skim milk. Because the people who drank skim milk were more hungry later and tended to eat more. I know this is too long. We just need to get back to common sense. I was a teen in the ‘70’s. I look at old concert footage, everyone was so thin. We did not obsess over food all the time. No one freaked out if you drank a soda. Every decade we have gotten more and more obsessed, and “they” say the population is more overweight than ever. I guess it is complicated. Oh, and I forgot, back around early 2000’s- It was eat every two hours small meals to keep your metabolism up-now fasting is popular. I never went for the eating two hours thing I knew that was not for me. Everyone live well and prosper! I need to schedule to have my blood 🩸 work done….

[@zacharymason1174]

Can you PLEASE do another ‘What I Eat In A Day’ video? It’s been almost two years and I’d love to see some changes you’ve made.

[@barbettecaravaggio7675]

likewise!

[@manicminer4573]

Nothing! It's all a conspiracy!

[@rafaelgelpi2718]

I too would like to see a ‘what I eat video’, no judgments on our part! I’m specially interested because I’m mostly plant based for several months but, I have difficulty getting enough calories unless I eat a lot of nuts and I’m trying to cut down on all the fats that nuts have

[@johnmelton4940]

​@@rafaelgelpi2718why do you want to cut them? Arent they healthy?

[@maricamaas2326]

​@@rafaelgelpi2718 Look into 'The Great Plant-Based Con' by Jayne Buxton, and 'NO GRAIN NO PAIN' by Peter Osborne.

[@plantbasedposer]

Re: the paleolithic/ancestors argument. Look into the PUFA content of wild game. It's not the same as our modern beef...even grassfed. Elk, deer are all higher in PUFA and they're leaner -- maybe 1 g of sat fat per serving vs. almost 6 g for some beef. Our ancestors could have eaten 6x the amount of meat before reaching the levels of saturated fat we do today.

[@mikechang6737]

I'm not even that interested in medicine or nutrition tbh, but Gil is such a refreshing and important guide to what science actually is in a world of internet charlatans, psuedointellectual podcasts, and sound bite science. The analytical approach, depth of arguments, logical consistency and constant steel-manning is such a juxtaposition to the norm. With counter culture and 'toilet research' exploding, these videos are much more important than nutrition, they are a lesson on what actual knowledge, inquiry and expertise looks like.

[@mikechang6737]

@@ljpop8888 ur almost surely someone with zero expertise in this area who's never taken an advanced class on modeling, academic studies, or science in ur life. Youve almost surely never even written a scientific paper in ur life beyond high-school. You think you have special knowledge because you watch counter culture videos on the internet but dont have any actual knowledge of any scientific field beyond high school. Because of this you cant tell whos bullshitting or not so you prefer to write off research you don't like as simply corrupted. You've also never been to or seen actual university research urself so to avoid cognitive dissonance of knowing nothing you frame academic experts as the bad guy despite ur zero actual experience with them. This is all speculative but you types are easy to spot from a mile away, only you will know how accurate my guess was. Raise an actual point with valid, robust, repeatable data and ule change my mind. Till then i just assume ur the same special knowledge wanting internet educated warrior with a room temperature iq, zero expertise and a disdain for actual experts ive seen 100 times.

[@-johnny-deep-]

"Steel-manning". Nice word and you made me look it up: "The term “steelmanning” was coined by the philosopher Eli Dourado as a way of promoting more constructive and respectful dialogue in online discussions. By encouraging people to engage with opposing viewpoints in a more charitable and fair-minded way, Dourado hoped to promote more productive and meaningful discussions."

[@beantreats]

lol, i'm the exact same. It's kinda weird watching these videos as someone who doesn't really have a horse in the race, but having studied critical thinking in uni, this guy is such a breath of fresh air. Nuance and humility neednt be so intimidating. I love how at one point he says "i'm agnostic about this" because there isn't enough evidence to convince him either way. That is a very acceptable and even honorable thing to say, yet so many would be afraid to seem at a loss for words.

[@joankaseman974]

Yes he's wonderful

[@optimumwellnessofficial]

That's true! 💥💥

[@arleenm7367]

Makes me think of the quote by Upton Sinclair - "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

[@paullucas898]

I keep wondering if the info about substitution of saturated fat for PUFA truly reflects like-for-like swaps. If I swap grass-fed tallow for soybean oil (cooking fat for cooking fat), will I see a benefit? If I swap pizza for some other refined carb with seed oils, will I lower my risk for CVD? If I replace eggs from pasture-raised chickens with those from chickens fed corn and soy, is there a reduction in risk? Saturated fat for PUFA could mean anything: a pie for walnuts is not like-for-like.

[@tubax926]

exactly. that's what makes me skeptical on all of these studies.

[@nutritionhealthandriskprev6228]

Wow, you numbered the references this time by order of mention! That was helpful. It would be awesome if you guys copy/pasted the name of the study on top of every link.

[@someguy2135]

I noticed that and strongly agree. Links are wonderful in the description, but labeling them makes it a lot more likely that people would use them. I am always looking for evidence from credible sources for debates, and occasions where I can dispel some misconceptions about nutrition and more.

[@gabrieleltz1773]

Thank you for going on depth and explaining how the studies are done. Its so horrible trying to read these studies and verify if anything it says is reliable data.

[@atabetuatara]

@DrGilCarvalho I know you're not likely to read this comment (1 year on). Your comment about dose and replacement are so incredibly illuminating. The summaries from so many very high standard studies don't allude to starting points, replacements and dose changes. Thank you very much for distilling this!

[@anonymoose-oUd2fcf]

Becoming a well respected scientist takes 20 years. Becoming a famous influencer takes 20 minutes.

[@hankhardisty9433]

Thank you for digging deep into this matter and making the issues clearer to those of us who are interested, but not deeply involved with these reviews.

[@stevesteve350]

I only wish you had 3 million subscribers to watch your analysis, rather than the video I had just watched agreeing with everything that this study states. Thank you for always being calm and diplomatic and explaining everything to a "T". I really appreciated the work you did on this one.

[@r0bt93]

Agreed - share his videos widely!

[@beldir1701]

I shared to all my friends who wants truth, he is a gift. A matter of time he will get there.

[@cyssoK]

wow, I usually get bored watching videos that talk about studies but I couldn't stop watching this! Excellent analysis, thank you!

[@brianpancoast6143]

Thank you for the detailed and sane analysis. I was alarmed after seeing a video that claimed to have new evidence that saturated fat “doesn’t matter” and in fact we should all add melted butter to our coffee. Wait, what ??? OK, I’m calmed down now. Keep doing what I’m doing. Balanced diet. All things in moderation. Protein is good. Fiber is good. The less processed foods the better. No individual whole natural food is “evil” in moderation. No individual supplement, powder, nutrient or food is a panacea. Even a perfect diet will not replace the need for exercise - both cardio & strength training.

[@buckmurdock2500]

there is no such thing as "moderation!"

[@JeffC-fq1be]

"All things in moderation" is one of the dumbest expressions ever.

[@MeredithDomzalski]

As a nonscientist, it's really disturbing to me how stuff like this gets past peer review. Never mind, that it's not easy for me to tell whether it's published in a predatory journal, etc. Most people don't even know that predatory journals exist. Even with the tools you've given in other videos, I'd have trouble picking this out as an unreliable study. It's frustrating!

[@hbjeff36]

Drug and food companies sponsor papers that make it through peer review as well

[@birdgirl1516]

Just like climate science…it is frustrating! Some “scientists” have allowed science to become “beliefs” which obviously taints all scientific principles

[@rredding]

I love it when I see Unilever, Bill Gates and WHO.😊

[@hbrianunderwood4946]

Happens all the time.

[@grumpyoldman6503]

@@hbjeff36 "breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" (this message brought to you by the dairy and cereal council) 🤣

[@DarthNoshitam]

How does a review with such poor science get published in a scientific journal?

[@250txc]

Because stupid people need it.

[@rndodd282]

I really appreciate how this video acts as a microcosm for how individuals can so easily sow confusion in a field like nutrition. The phrase "anatomy of confusion" was perfect for this. Bravo, Gil.

[@N330AA]

Your channel is quality mate, really helps to breakdown all the studies and deal with any conflicting evidence. Quite rare on KZbin.

[@pamelaandpabloortiz6250]

This is an excellent and thoroughly comprehensive explanation of ALL the factors that truly matter in getting to evidence based information ! The way you summarize studies is so very helpful . Unfortunately many people consume information from social media “experts” . Thank you for all the work you do in helping us strive to be our healthiest self.

[@autisticautumn7379]

Our ancestors ran around and were 'cold' maybe it didn't have as much of an impact as it does today .

[@victorycall]

It's disturbing that the "bogeyman" article was peer reviewed. It demonstrates that being peer reviewed is no guarantee of an article's reliability. The narrator of this video clearly discussed the flaws of the article: cherry picking studies, disregarding large rigorous studies that were directly in the timeframe and subject matter, and not giving weight to the quality of studies. It seems that every peer reviewed article needs to be scrutinized by someone with deep understanding of the field to determine if its conclusions are valid; which completely negates the purpose of the peer review process being an indicator of an article's quality.

[@andyhamilton9274]

@@victorycall I sense this Dr has his own biases

[@Kinnnnnnnnn1]

​@@andyhamilton9274 same here...obviously.

[@JesusIsGoodTruth]

Isn’t it ironic how you’re commenting on the video of a social media “expert”?

[@roberttowner6326]

Your channel is a GEM my man! Keep up the GREAT work you’re doing. Very appreciative of your work and explanations.

[@jm08050]

I should have watched cat videos instead!

[@roberttowner6326]

@@jm08050 why aha

[@caprideck6148]

Ioiy

[@liamjordan3068]

Subbed from watching you with Dr Brewer recently and wow, you sure do have a good grasp on these trials!

[@metalWarriorCZ]

You have done a very good hard work. Thank you very much. I learn something new in every video and I studied nutrition for more than 10 years now.

[@ts3798]

Just want to say I really appreciate the work you do on this channel.

[@DansTech307]

Hi Gil - I found this video very interesting. From the graph shown @ 12.45 and all of the other research cited, can you state what was the greatest Absolute Risk ( NOT Relative Risk ) percentage increase with regard to CVD and Mortality recorded with the highest intake of saturated fat. The graph shown @ 17.52 is meaningless as it has no units of measurement on the x and y axes.

[@Lumencraft-]

I really appreciate that you link all of the studies in the description and put the number on the screen for which one your are siting.

[@Fearzero]

Citing

[@AndyLambg]

I'm loving this channe, making all these confusing, contradicting studies simple for us to understand and make a decision. Thank you so much. Kudos & success to your channel. 😊

[@micoskywalker8889]

Thank you very much for this informative video; it really clarified all the confusion I had and answered many of the questions I had in mind. I was at the stage of oh screw it all then, I’ll eat whatever I want. Feeling much more motivated for a lifestyle change at the age of 47.

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

we're almost the same age, it's not too late!! :)

[@willbrink]

This vid demonstrates how complex human nutrition is, and why people are confused over the conflicting info out there. My Q is, how does that get published in a high impact cardio journal?

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

You have unpaid and sometimes apathetic reviewers against a well funded attempt to propagate misinformation. If you throw enough resources at it, the disinformation process is like save scumming in a turn based strategy game. Reviewers A and B actually do reference diving because they are professionals? Fine. Submit it to another journal. All you need is to roll a panel of apathetic reviewers. Let's say that 98% of the community would toss the paper back at your face, you reroll with another journal or another expendable first author. Assuming two reviewers, it'll take only 20 or so attempts even assuming a low level of apathy. (The journal in question is 22nd in citation metrics within its category of 136 publications. This is totally save scummable.) Edit: Now that I have described how to do a successful brute force attack on the peer review process (and I actually review things in several journals when asked), it is important to say that this would not be an issue without the modern attention based information economy. A scientist would just look at the paper title and its bibliometrics and laugh. A social media influencer or a science journalist would take the story and run with it.

[@fortuna7469]

Wonderful, thank you so much for these thorough readings! I have been watching videos by a couple of doctors who claim that saturated fats are okay with a healthy doze of scepticism and hence I never changed my diet. Nevertheless, as a layman I did not have the knowledge to overthrow their claims, and this left me somewhat confused. Now I know to trust the official recommendations. All the best from Finland in Europe!

[@butchtayshman3560]

Hey Gil, I love your stuff. I would like to request a video on what studies show regarding organic vs non-organic produce. I’ve looked into it quite a bit, but I’d love to hear your analysis. Thanks for all you do!

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

we made one waaay back :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2iUp2iAp9KSpZo

[@butchtayshman3560]

@@NutritionMadeSimple oh fabulous. Thank you!

[@ryananderson6321]

Glad to see you mentioned stearic acid not showing to be a 'bad' fat!!!

[@k4climate420]

So I guess the “peer review” process isn’t helpful when the peers are management professors 😂 Thank you for this thorough debunking.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

What did it debunk? When in the start it already shows that replacing saturated fats with either whole grains or omega 6 is beneficial? This has been proven again and again.

[@ariston111]

No, sorry. You have no idea what you're talking about. Peer review is managed by the journal, not the peers.

[@victorycall]

@@ariston111 Since the "bogeyman" article that was critiqued by this video was a peer reviewed article, it goes to show that being "peer reviewed" is no assurance that an article's conclusions are valid. The "bogeyman" article cherry picked studies to evaluate, and disregarded large rigorous studies that were smack dab in the timeframe and subject. I don't know anything about the peer review process, but I can observe that very low quality articles such as the "bogeyman" article make it through the peer review process. Thus I can come to the conclusion that the peer review process is highly flawed and not a good indicator of an article's reliability.

[@victorycall]

@@Nobody-Nowhere "What did it debunk?" This video debunked the "bogeyman" article.

[@JohnSmith-hs1hn]

Follow the money 😂

[@cativillegas]

I'm learning so much from your channel. I've been struggling with high LDL levels all of my life, and the role saturated fats play in this, and I think something recently clicked. Thank you for all that you do!

[@DaviDeMarco]

Gil obrigado pelo tempo e esforço que você com certeza colocou nesse vídeo.

[@user-xw9ro6ge1m]

This is one of the best nutrition videos I’ve seen in a while. Subscribed! Hopefully your channel will help me sort out the mess in my mind about what’s healthy to eat.

[@dsg3213]

I truly appreciate all of the effort and research that goes into your videos.

[@marlinguidegun1657]

This was excellent. My experience is that I've followed the dietary guidelines since my youth, and it didn't do me any good because our understanding has changed so much over my lifetime. Additionally, so much of what we have been taught has been influenced by lobbyists. For example, my government mandated high school health class advised that pizza with everything on it was the perfect food (it included the four basic food groups approved by the lobbyists for the major industries). I was taught that a man should consume 3600 calories a day (influenced by political parties promoting the notion that the poor are malnourished and needed food stamps when they were probably eating an ideal diet!), and that we should count calories (not a good combination). I avoided vitamin supplements because that was the guidance - bad move for a light skinned person living in the north. I dutifully followed their advice to use margarine instead of butter back when that was full of trans fats, and I even worked on a dairy farm. I dutifully avoided egg yolks and thus denied myself K2. I have little doubt that your conclusion is correct as you make excellent arguments, and the Canadian plate looks like what is for dinner - however governments need to get out of the dietary guidance business, if for no other reason than they have been unduly influenced by lobbyists. The government has a conflict of interest. Additionally, they also don't adequately account for religious, cultural or genetic variations. I'll give two examples: that plate violates a kosher principle of mixing meat and milk, but nobody seemed to notice. Also, feeding people that evolved eating seals too many carbs has led to an epidemic of diabetes. They should just stay out of the business altogether because they are lousy at it and limiting the number of people listening to their advice limits the potential harm. I wish that I had ignored them, I'd be much healthier.

[@turntablesrockmyworld9315]

Government guidelines haven't changed much here (Canada) in decades but people still don't follow them despite them being good. It's only when the Internet dude bros say to do the same certain things are okay then people listen: For decades the guidelines here said to watch portion size (and gave examples), eat lower sat fat, exercise moderate to vigorous 150 min a week, keep active and household activities count towards moving, eat fresh veggies, fruit, whole grains, limited dairy, and limited meats (to suggested servings), minimise sugar foods, alcohol. The only real change is more veggies than grains. And they dropped the specifics of exercise because no one was doing it.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Not sure what dietary guidelines have you been following, but they all say the same. Eat a lot of vegetables & fruits, lean protein preferably from legumes. Eat whole grains, and limit refined fats & sugars. Its not that hard.

[@marlinguidegun1657]

@@Nobody-Nowhere those are new, I’m referring to guidelines from the past. I’m not sure that the present guidelines will survive the test of time either.

[@HegelsOwl]

@marlinguidegun1657 The guide-lines "Nobody-Nowhere" mentions were unviversally known during the 1960's, here in U.S., when I was in grade school. Is that "from the past" you speak of?

[@humbabadook3962]

Hey Gil, first of all great channel and great work! Do you maybe also have a video regarding the cooking with PUFAs? (And cooking with mono unsaturated and saturated fats) The main argument against PUFA is regarding smoke points and oxidation of fats. I would be interested in a video about what oils to use for cooking.

[@jeffreybritton3338]

Great video. Now I see why it’s so hard to know who or what to trust when it comes to nutritional info.

[@hamishmaclean1409]

Truly superb, I'm no expert but have an interest in this field and for the first time I've seen, you've extracted and explained the key points so clearly 👏. "I sincerely believe they have the best intentions" - I think you're too kind, you've highlighted enough examples of bias here for us to reasonably conclude they knowingly skewed things to create a more impactful study!

[@MisterHowzat]

I was about to recommend a high saturated fat diet to several people as the way to go but hesitated because something didn't feel right. Then i come across your channel AND this particular analysis. Boy, have i been schooled! Thank you for opening my eyes.

[@MrClarence1126]

Wow, I loved your commentary at the end. I wish that were a preliminary requirement before people start looking for KZbin stars that say what they want to hear.

[@josipvran]

I'm bingeing on your videos and uploading my library of useful information with scientific articles that you present and interpret properly - thank you for taking the time to make these videos!

[@pavelchorda8425]

Congrats, your last paper reviews are now much more detailed and being much more accurate, being more critical and questioning the trials. This is the way to go.

[@zane.walker]

As a chemist who likes to dabble in data science I I fully appreciate your efforts in critiquing this "villain and bogeyman" article and trying to set the record straight. Your systematic approach in walking through each of the studies assessed in the review is excellent and easy to follow, even for a layman like myself. Unfortunately, once these factoids make in into society, they can take a long time to dispel. I grew up thinking that spinach was an especially good source of iron even though Erich von Wolf's original erroneous value from 1870 was corrected by the late 1930's, well over 20 years before I was born!

[@travelwithManuel]

Problem is people don’t replace. They tend to eat all. Saturated, poly, carbs etc.

[@stephensharp2925]

Excellent ! As a family physician struggling to educate patients in the field of preventive health and nutrition , I direct them to your site without reservation , thank you Dr. Carvalho 👍🏼

[@deancoder8356]

Thanks Gil! You are a great communicator:-). I can certainly see why the confusion exists on social media and it helped clear up some of my misunderstandings. The dietary guidelines say 10% of daily calories and my curiosity is about the different types of saturated fats. Since there are many different types, do we lump them all together or are there types that are more harmful than others? Stearin acid vs palmitic acid vs myristic acid …..

[@ivanfoofoo]

They are indeed different but there's not much long-term evidence to demonstrate it. It's better to focus on actual food since the health outcomes can vary depending on multiple factors.

[@zane.walker]

Regarding the impact of saturated fat on our ancestors, given that life expectancy was typically ~35 years for Europe and the Americas up until the ~1870's, is it reasonable to conclude that our ancestors just didn't live long enough enough to die of cardio vascular disease?

[@a.brucemcdonald9038]

Just found your channel recently. I love your content. Thanks so much. Keep up the great work.

[@KG-if2oc]

Have you done, or could you do a video on Familial Hypercholesterolemia? My sister was vegan for 2 years and her cholesterol numbers didnt change one iota! My cholesterol is nearly 400 but i dont see the point in repeating her experiment until i know more.

[@eduardozamora1947]

This must have been some work! Thanks for putting this out there.

[@waleedabbas4996]

Hey Gil? Could you tell me where the S shaped graph of saturated fat dose related risk was from? As it didn't have any numbers on it, where did risk start to increase from 0?

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

it's from the Cochrane meta shown on screen right before. I think it's reference #2

[@justgivemethetruth]

I get that there is a threshold for saturated fat danger, but does it metabolize or clear out, or just stay high like that if you stop eating it?

[@palerikgrebstad2508]

love your channel and your work. glad you're so unbiased in looking at the evidence.

[@jacobdebernardi4385]

I'm curious why we recommend PUFAs to be sourced from vegetable oils, when the processing they undergo makes some of them rancid with oxidation before they even hit the shelves. If that can be cleared up, it'd help my understanding a lot.

[@theartofbellydance]

PUFAs are abundant in plant foods and fish. They can be either omega 3 or omega 6. Vegetable oils are processed and high in omega 6. Evidence doesn’t show that vegetable oil, like canola oil, are necessarily harmful but they are processed. You can get all your MUFAs and PUFAs from whole foods.

[@jussilahteenmaki3475]

@@theartofbellydance And processing does not automatically make things bad.

[@jacobdebernardi4385]

@@theartofbellydance Whole foods are definitely the way to go, and I think omega-3s in particular are a good idea. But the issue for me is the type of processing these oils undergo. Extensive heating causes breakdown to the point that the fats are rancid. Acid washing, deodorization, etc. Not to mention PUFAs are particularly unstable when it comes to heat, I wouldn't exactly deep fry something in fish oil even if I could afford to. That's why I sub more heat stable coconut oil or avocado for my cooking in place of vegetable oil.

[@willou901]

@@theartofbellydance watch the video on vegetable oils. A lot of assumptions are based on common sense and what we kept hearing, which aren’t necessarily true.

[@hmuhl]

Thank you for the enlightenment!!! Great Job! Just wish your videos had translation to many other languages so they could reach many more people that, like me, need this type of clarification!

[@scotmarvin8991]

So much goodness here, Gil. Thank you for your work and explanations!

[@rkirwan1]

Excellent analysis as always Gil. I do worry about the frequency of papers like this and how often they're sensationalised by groups that may have a poorer understanding of the science but simply want their to viewpoint to be true.

[@birdgirl1516]

I feel like the Keto /Carnivore community is also rife with confirmation bias

[@marinazagrai1623]

Thank you doctor…for a person like me who has ADHD to keep me watching your brilliant review is something (I’m sure others with this are watching). I tried getting into nursing a long time ago but it didn’t happen…my psych classes went through these analyses so I learned how complex these trials are. My grandfather ate a little butter and fried his pork chops to a crisp…he was born in 1904! Anyway, his mind set allowed him to live till 1995 while his wife (my grandma died when I was 2) dropped off, literally, when she was 62 after a diet of margarine after WWII when butter was scarce.

[@franciscogonzalezramirez5033]

I really enjoy and like your channel. I subscribed of course, but I must say that you should call it Disentangling the Complexities of Nutrition because it's all but "made simple"--you really go in-depth (which is something almost no other Nutrition-Health KZbinr is doing).

[@jean-philippebouchard9506]

What about the effects of saturated fat on people that are in ketosis vs those that are not? Not a single study mentioned ever seemed to make a distinction between the 2 type of people.

[@Rendasd]

Bro, Thank you soooo much for your work. Your analysis of these studies and breaking them down for everyone is a godsend. I listen to your videos while working and it saves me time to dissect these things on my own. I appreciate what you do!

[@ahye6007]

Such an EXCELLENT video with thorough preparation and analysis! This is the most informative channel of all I've seen on KZbin on this topic. One question that still remains in my mind, though, is the mechanism by which carnivore diet could indeed produce some POSITIVE impact on cardiovascular health (beyond that it may not increase the risk when it is already maxed out) for some people with a specific set of conditions (although it would produce a net negative effect at the aggregate level). A video on this topic will be extremely informative!

[@keithwilkinson5707]

Another great video thank you Gil. One limited understanding of gatherer-hunter peoples is that they often went for weeks without meat living on the readily available berries, leaves and tubers.

[@robertusga]

Thank you Gil for providing sanity in a mad social media world!

[@sophiekarnak3936]

Fantastic, thorough analysis, I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into these videos, Gil! You and Plant Chompers are by far my favorite KZbin channels. I looked up the journal wondering if it was one of the pay-to-publish outlets, but it seems like a legit, peer reviewed journal - how in the world did such a sloppy and deeply flawed study make it past peer review???

[@DrAJ_LatinAmerica]

Money : ) they don't know but had to publish something to keep their jobs. The peers are friends. Publish or Perish is real.

[@ml3141]

Great explanation and very comprehensive. Easy to understand all the points. Made all the issues touched on clear to me! Thank you!!! 👍👍👍💚 Also, thank you for all the references!

[@vrana21xyz]

Been a fan of the show - have watched all videos till date (I think ;-)). This one is one of the best across all health channels. Highly recommend. Thanks Gil…!

[@deanjericevic8912]

Being a science teacher for 34 years, I like your scientific methodology. Nutrition studies have many variables which you have pointed out & depending what you hold constant will strongly influence your results & conclusions. The media be it Covid, Ukraine or climate science wants something sensational; “throw the cat amongst the pigeons” & that is how we function. To garner the “truth” we need to statistically average over many peer reviewed published articles, just as you are doing. It is so important to pick out those nuanced differences & what you include & don’t make a large difference to you scientific researched conclusion. A great effort I thoroughly concur with your approach.

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

I am 60 years old and started watching these health-related videos as my A1C and BP began to rise. You are by far the best sir. You are not a sensationalist "doctor" just looking for views and selling "programs". Thank you for just telling the truth!🍅🍋🍊 My wife is an RN and I just sent her your link.

[@myopenmind527]

What is your HgA1c now?

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

@@myopenmind527 5.8 almost normal! After watching the vid with the featuring British Dr. specializing in diabetes, I decided I need to lose about 10-15 pounds to get the fat out of my pancreas to wake up the B cells. So I am focusing on just eating healthy and not keto. BP is better too.

[@burger101ful]

What kinda of foods are you focusing on? Thanks

[@myopenmind527]

@@DetroitHomeInspector I’m just going to relate my personal experience and don’t want to undermine any decisions that you may have made. I struggled with a low fat diet and regular exercise for years going from having pre diabetes to full blown diabetes. My endocrinologist wanted to start me on insulin straight away. In the end we tried metformin and meds for my hypertension. This Christmas (December 22) I decided after losing perhaps 20lb over 4 years even with osempic that enough was enough. I did my own research: Prof Roy Taylor md Dr.David Unwin md Dr. Sarah halberg md Dr Eric Westman md In 5 months I’ve lost 35lb. I’ve stopped Osempic. My blood glucose and HgA1c normalised within 2 month. I’ve stopped taking synjardy but still take metformin 1000mg twice daily. My blood pressure is over the last month has averaged 110/70 so I may need to halve the dose or stop my losartan. I eat to satiety. Love what I eat. I’m eating an ultra low carb diet (20g). I almost never feel hungry and only eat once or twice a day. I have no cravings or feelings of being out of control. Bread , pasta rice etc are things I van totally live without. I make sure that I’m well hydrated. I now wear a continuos glucose monitor which has taught me loads along the way. For example I figured out day1 that porridge caused a massive and prolonged glucose spike. I’ve got a new wardrobe because my clothes were falling off me. I read a book called the last diet which taught me to accept days where I ate too many carbs and got a glucose spike. My wife, mother and children barely recognise me but are all so proud of my achievement. I’m going to stay on metformin for now even though I do not need it on this diet as it had demonstrable health benefits even if ny diabetes is in remission. There is a weight loss programme for everyone. For me it was avoiding ultra processed foods and eating low carb. Others may get there with a liquid diet or a low fat diet. The latter two didn’t work for me as I was always hungry and had cravings. If you are overweight then please understand that is not your fault. I wish you well. Send me a reply if you want me to share with you a full list of the books I’ve read that helped. Take good care of you.

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

@@burger101ful I was doing keto but after watching the British Dr. on this channel, I am just looking at reducing calories and getting my weight down a bit more. Keto works but I like some carbs. The British Dr. said if you can get your weight down to your own personal "sweet spot" your diabetes will go away 90 percent of the time. I lift weights 6 days a week as well. A1C and BP are both down.

[@ericr5481]

Thank you so much for the work you do. Even though I knew what the answer was going to be (because of your previous videos), I still enjoy the analysis and break downs you give. When you target a study or claim directly in a video, it makes it easy to direct people to a specific resource to help open their eyes if they're using this specific study or claim to support something.

[@apriljohnson6191]

Thank you for that thorough review. Is this a peer reviewed study? If it is, I think that is why people would have been more accepting of it. Perhaps Caveat Emptor will be my rule from now on for even peer reviewed studies. Just one question about the S curve with Saturated fat - at what percentage of daily intake does that risk increase? I thought it was 10%, but appears that 10% was the middle of that S curve? Or did I misunderstand the picture? Thank you in advance for the clarification. :-)

[@asexualatheist3504]

People often forget that our distant ancestors did not have central heating and AC let alone running water that many of us enjoy today. So comparing modern humans with modern amenities is comparing apples to oranges. The oranges are the distant ancestors whose lifestyles were markedly different from ours. Also, the distant ancestors lived long enough to have children. We know their lifespans were much shorter than ours.

[@cheshirehomebrew]

Always an unbiased opinion rather than the extreme biased either way. Overnight oats for my breakfast with chia seeds,mango and blueberries. Topped with banana and seeds should see me through the day.👍

[@tanyasydney2235]

Yummy. That's my favorite breakfast.

[@RyansTraining]

Really love your videos Gil. Thanks for diving deep into all of this. It really helps me partition things in my life properly rather than cutting this out and cutting that out. Thanks again!

[@franklincornelius9373]

You are taking the confusion out of what has been made complicated that is really not so complicated, very easy to see. Me thinks some are spreading information that carries an agenda and not decimation of valuable information that we could all use. Thank you, you are valuable to mankind.

[@todance2]

I wander how come the studies never differentiate between the effect of nutrition choices on lean subjects without cvd risk factors vs overweight subjects with many risk factors. Could it be that the bad effects of dietary supplements are mainly affecting the second group and not very relevant to the first group?

[@chrisedginton6996]

Another good video Dr. Carvalho. I would be interested on your thoughts on HOW to replace saturated fats with PUFAs in a meal plan. I think this would be an interesting video: take a single, real life patient who you have the following on: a one week food journal, height, weight, BP, lipid profile (ApoE?), A1C, insulin, CAC scan, etc. and then along with another doctor on camera, riff back and forth what would be the plan you two would set out for this person, all the while basing your recommendations on the science as it relates back to this patient. A video like this would tie many of your other videos together and make the process 'real' for people.......and it'd be entertaining!

[@Paula-rq9nc]

Thanks Gil!! You are my go-to guy for analysis and nutrition information. I am embarrassed to say I bought the Keto Koolaid for about 5 months in 2020 when trying to lose weight after gaining too much during the Covid lockdowns. However, I just couldn’t reconcile the idea, espoused by Keto devotees, that fruits, whole grains, and legumes are bad for you. I now eat a mainly Mediterranean diet and feel great.

[@leetpg]

People who use keto to lose weight do not say those foods are bad for you, they know carbohydrates are often linked with weight gain so they deprive their body of carbs and the body will use fat as the primary fuel. I felt great 120 days on a strict carnivore diet. Better than I felt on Mediterranean and better than I felt on keto.

[@Soulerous]

I must say, Paula, that although Gil's analysis does have many apt criticisms, it is not even close to telling the complete picture. It doesn't try to. Keto benefits are very real, but keto advocates can be wrong about things. Just like how the medical industry has been horribly wrong about so many things for decades. Fruit has been bred to be sweeter than is natural. It's healthy to eat in moderation, and some fruits are better than others. It can be bad. Legumes and grains are high in lectins, which affect some people more than others. There's plenty of science espousing the dangers of these, but it's not quite the same for everyone. Preparation can also dramatically change how healthy they are. Some keto advocates are against any sort of carb-based diet, which is narrow-minded. Others know better. Keto is a powerful tool for solving certain problems, mainly metabolic disease. If you are metabolically unhealthy, keto is the prime method for fixing that. If you are metabolically healthy, a Mediterranean diet will work excellently. I just want to caution against leaping to conclusions. The phrase "keto koolaid" tells me you have a lot more to learn about it. As do I. No disrespect meant at all! Have a wonderful day.

[@deltawhiskey1398]

Sorry...but sugar and excessive carbs are bad for you...period. Doesn't matter if its from fruits or vegetables. It's really not even debatable anymore.

[@leetpg]

@@deltawhiskey1398 there's a big misconception that refined sugar is worse than fruit sugar. The body sees both exactly the same. They're equivalent. The difference is refined sugar is usually in shitty, processed foods where as fruit has useful nutrients and minerals.

[@johnwilliam6092]

@@deltawhiskey1398 Most modern fruits are horrible for your health. Especially fruit juices. I grew up living on fruit and had belly fat, low muscle mass and felt crappy. Fructose is pro-inflammatory. It's man made at this point, just like 90% of all modern carb based food. Bad.

[@ClovettCC]

Hey Dr. C, thanks for the vid. One question: I've heard from Whole Food Plant Based people that the body can produce all the saturated fat it needs on its own, without dietary consumption. Is this suboptimal in any way? I'm assuming it would be very hard to get literally zero saturated fat, since there is some even in whole plant foods, but has this been studied?

[@MB19ap]

Are there any studies that compare the different saturated fats? My understanding is that there are numerous subtypes, and they may have different effects on CVD risk.

[@vicentecueto8152]

My respects to you Sir! Thanks for keep us informed and pointing out the contradictions for us to be able to make sense of studies like these.

[@jozefwoo8079]

Glad the hupla’s about the pufa’s got cleared up! 😅 Great information once again. Thank you! You are repeating some concepts in your videos but I find that useful because for some reason it’s easy to get confused again and again. Even for me and I consider myself to be pretty rational/sceptical.

[@carnivoroussarah]

Me too. We aren't perfect.

[@Laurenski67]

Oh, my goodness, thank you for saving us from nutrition rabbit holes! I had no idea that reviews can be done by anybody! Thank you for explaining all of that. I was one of those ppl who fell for the hoopla - maybe I just wanted to believe that having a stick of butter a day is good for me 😋

[@relaxgood512]

This is what many don’t understand. Just like there is a difference between refined carbs and carbs from whole foods which are healthier than refined carbs there is a difference between polyunsaturated fats from refined sources which are not healthy and polyunsaturated fats from whole sources. The refined polyunsaturated fats come from vegetable oils which have been produced by using high heat which destroys the fat composition and additives deodorizers extenders etc. which make these oils unhealthy. That is why fast food and processed foods are no good for you they are packed with these unhealthy processed oils. Nuts and seeds avocados organic extra virgin olive oil and other organic oils which are used fresh are healthy.

[@tazot4064]

Fast food oil is unhealthy because they heat it to very high temperatures over and over for days. Not to mention the actual food they are frying. Mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers with cheese, donuts; ect .. Vegetable oils heated minimally and eaten with whole plants are healthy

[@Ermude10]

Fantastic walkthrough of the this review! Not only do you do it in a rigorous way, but you also teach and show what to consider and think about with a scientific mindset. Really educational!

[@AliceFarmer-bg4dw]

Gil. Did any of these studies do any good hard deep science work such as testing omega-3 omega six fatty acids in the blood and adipose tissue? So do we know if the increase poly and saturated fats help because of the omega 3 or the omega 6?

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

yes, there's tons of studies on that, see e.g. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYfadY2Ml8ulgdE kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2nXq5SOhq1kfZY

[@magdanieniewska2687]

Thank you so much for breaking down all the factors to look for in scientific studies and analyses. So glad I found your channel ☺️

[@chrissofpv3017]

Inuits seem to do ok on a high fat diet...no?

[@NutritionMadeSimple]

evidence is mixed. there was an early report claiming they had no heart disease but it contained no measurements, later reports contradicted it. they also ate marine animals which may be better given the omega 3s

[@chrissofpv3017]

@@NutritionMadeSimple 👍🍻

[@harrynac6017]

I understood that heating liquid oils turn a part of the not saturated fats into saturated fats. True? And is this a significant part? What I do: I use a minimum of oil to bake in, and add some more when the dish is done (yeah, I like fat)

[@stevensalisbury8157]

Love your analysis music to my ear the way you correlate understanding

[@Sobchak2]

Thanks Dr Carvalho, this analysis is really thorough and well made.

[@virginiamoss7045]

Finally, I found a reliable source for medical information on KZbin. I don't have the time to delve into these studies and interpret them for myself. I can trust your assessments because of your reasonings and thorough research. Yet mostly you present conclusions and descriptions consumable by the average person, at least someone who did fairly well in high school.

[@ahappyimago]

You read meta studies and narrative reviews on your own trust me. Many sources on KZbin become less reliable

[@JoeARedHawk275]

@@ahappyimago I would say nutrition made simple is a reliable source most of the time. Especially on topics involving studies on fats and cholesterol he seems pretty reliable. Unless you tell me that keto advocates are right or something, I’ll take a gander if your view is different from mine that this channel is generally reliable

[@ahappyimago]

@@JoeARedHawk275 Keto advocates are usually misguided of course. I’ve watched reliable people become corrupt over time as they become more KZbin famous. I don’t know this channel that well. I like Layne Norton but my main is you can gets a lot by going on PubMed and reading the narrative reviews yourself too.

[@xakushonx8798]

@@ahappyimago He is reliable. If you dont think so tell me please where he is wrong or if something doesnt make sense.

[@JW4REnvironment]

Many thanks to Dr. Carvalho for his objective interpretations of scientific publications. His insights into the effects of PUFA and other oils on health are illuminating! Some doctors say that oils are too refined for everyone to consume, but there doesn’t seem to be science to show that PUFA are a problem beyond being high in calories…

[@jeffreyjohnson7359]

Gil, what do you think about the ADA diabetes food plate? It's very similar to the Canadian. The fruit and vegetable half is replaced by a non-starchy vegetable half. The whole grains quarter is a carb food quarter, with fruits added to the grains, along with beans and legumes (which are also in the protein quarter), milk and yogurt, and starchy vegetables. The protein quarter is basically the same.

[@emerson-sheaapril8555]

I think I saw many fitness influencers talking about this study saying see saturated fat doesn't matter. This was awesome. Thank you.

[@ajlee1216]

It’s a blessing to the public that we have scientists like you who think responsibly. Very glad I recently found your channel. Keep up the great work!