10 Aspects to Eat Saturated Fat (That Dietitians Choose to Ignore)

In this article I am going to outline 10 reasons to eat more saturated fat, which you may have heard referred to as “artery-clogging saturated fat” by outdated nutritionists and vegan proponents.

1. Saturated Fat Does NOT Give You Heart Disease

Despite what you may have heard countless times, there is no association at all between saturated fat and heart disease (1, 2).
In fact, saturated fat modifies certain risk factors for heart disease, actually improving them.
It changes your LDL from the “small, dense (bad) kind” to the “large, fluffy type” which is benign (3, 4, 5). Saturated fat also raise your HDL (see below).

2. May be protective against stroke

Here’s a surprise for you.
Not only is saturated fat not associated with increased risk of heart disease, it may actually decrease risk of stroke, which is caused by bleeding or a blood clot in the brain (6, 7).

3. Raises your HDL levels

I am sure you’ve heard of the talk about “good” vs “bad” cholesterol. The good cholesterol is called HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) and it is common knowledge that saturated fat raises HDL levels (8, 9).
HDL levels are inversely correlated with cardiovascular disease, and the fact that saturated fat has a positive effect on HDL is something nutrition policy makers have chosen to selectively ignore.

4. Foods with Saturated Fat are Incredibly Nutritious

The fact is that foods that are high in natural saturated fats are incredibly nutritious, meat, organs and whole eggs being prime examples of that. Despite these foods (such as the eggs) being high in cholesterol, that doesn’t have any effect on heart disease whatsoever (10, 11, 12).

5. These Foods Contain a lot of Fat Soluble Vitamins

Natural foods that are high in fat contain a lot of fat soluble vitamins, including Vitamin A, E, D3 and K2.
An interesting example of a food that has been demonized due to high saturated fat content is full-fat dairy.
Ironically, some evidence suggests that full-fat dairy may be incredibly protective against heart disease, reducing risk by 69% in one large study, most likely due to a high Vitamin K2 content (13).

6. High Fat (And Low Carb) Diets Can Aid in Weight Loss

Low-carb diets tend to be high in fat, including saturated fat. These diets have incredible health benefits for people, including drastically increased weight loss compared to their low-fat counterparts (14, 15, 16).

7. Saturated Fats Don’t Damage Easily During High Heat

Saturated fats don’t contain any double bonds like unsaturated fats, which means that they are more stable. When cooking, fats are exposed to both high heat and oxygen at the same time, and saturated fats are less likely to become oxidized (damaged) under these circumstances.
Therefore, saturated fats are a safer option for cooking.

8. Saturated Fats Are a Clean Fuel

Saturated fat is a form of energy that the body can use easily and metabolize as a clean fuel.
The body actually uses saturated (and monounsaturated) fat as a storage form of energy, and the body can use this stored energy in a healthy way when it lacks food. It doesn’t make any sense that humans would evolve to store energy in a form that is harmful to them.
The fact is, every weight loss diet is a high-saturated-fat diet, because a large part of the fatty acids in body fat are saturated, and during a calorie deficit the body will burn body fat.

9. The Look in Peoples Face

It’s hard to deny that it’s fun to watch the faces of outdated nutritionists and vegans as you smother your steak in melted butter at the restaurant. Then you get to laugh like a madman when they tell you that you’ll die of a heart attack.

10. Saturated Fat is Delicious

Bacon, steak, whole eggs, cheese, cream, butter… nuff said.