This article (and the hubbub in the comment section) is quite interesting. The authors pretty much debunk the AHA stance against saturated fats in a most convincing manner.
If you don’t have a Medscape account, you should. It’s an invaluable resource for articles from all medical disciplines.
The article and arguments reminded me of this
Great article! A fascinating read for me, I am shocked but not surprised:
" For instance, the leaders of one large NIH-funded study with findings unfavorable to the diet-heart hypothesis did not publish them for 16 years. When asked why, one reportedly replied that there was nothing wrong with the study; "We were just disappointed in the way it turned out. […]
None of these reviews could find any evidence that saturated fats had an effect on cardiovascular mortality or total mortality." [The bold emphasis is mine].
Great find, Doc!
And that is why the scientific system is broken in places. We have a valid study, it will add to the existing body of knowledge, but we don’t want to disturb the current “infad” hypothesis, or in the worst case, the people that paid for the research wouldn’t be happy.
Sad, and not the way I was taught to do research.
@Michel My take on saturated fats has always been that they are harmless in moderation.
I never bought into the “butter is bad” hypothesis. My guess is that margarine has probably caused more health problems overall than butter.
I am a firm proponent of the whole food theory. The less processed a food is the higher the likelihood that it will not harm you.
Unless you are on a south pole expedition, then you just eat sticks of butter and bacon. I figure that would get old pretty fast.
“They kept themselves fueled with a 7,000-calorie-a-day diet of deep-fried bacon, cheese and huge chunks of butter”
I just didn’t want people to forget about the cheese, because cheese is my primary energy source 
@Chris And I bet that they all succumbed to arterorosclerotic heart disease 
I guess we now know what happened to Scott’s party…
UPDATE: PURE Shakes Up Nutritional Field: Finds High Fat Intake Beneficial
BARCELONA, SPAIN — A new study of dietary habits in 135,000 people around the world is set to shake up the nutrition field, with results showing high fat intake—including saturated fat—was associated with a reduced risk of mortality. The PURE study, which followed participants from 18 countries for 7 years, also found that high carbohydrate intake was associated with an increased risk of mortality, although the data do not discriminate between processed and unprocessed carbohydrates.
This study literally turns the low fat high carb recommendation of the AHA for the past 35 years on it’s head.
So apparently there’s a new documentary out there that claims the complete opposite and basically just goes along with the “Fat = Bad. Carb = Good” idea. A doctor in it even claims that carbs cannot be turned in to fat by the body. It is called “What the health” and in the past week I’ve seen multiple people touting it (at TuD for example, posted some links with counter-arguments there). Because, you know, there’s a REAL diabetes specialist in the movie who has done THE definitive research. Hence it must be true, right?
I was wondering if any of you has seen ‘What the health’? What are your thoughts on the documentary?
And do you know anything about this supposed ‘diabetes expert’ called Neal Barnard?
@Boerenkool Thanks for the link to the thread over at that other site 
.
Concerning the “documentary”, it strikes me as another pop/junk science exercise that pops up every so often. Sometimes they gain traction because of the tenacity off the proponents, not having anything to do with science.
I’ve seen this in dentistry a couple of times in the past several years. The most egregious example is the attempted demonification of fluoride. Thankfully that one has been all but stamped out, and fluoride is still widely recognized as one of the most beneficial adjuncts to dental health.
But if someone wants to follow a vegan diet, more power to them. I hope they know enough to supplement it with the appropriate amino acids. I myself will continue with my LCHF, and when I do have a piece of toast it will certainly be slathered with real butter.
Yes. Dr. Bernard is a non practicing psychiatrist. 'Nuff said.
I so wish I could do that (with some local honey too) – but I really need to watch my weight right now!
Thanks for the info about the “What the Health” movie. I tend to stop myself from watching these types of films, but I’ve known a number of people who’ve shifted to a vegan/high carb diet because of seeing them. I know there’s lots of variable opinions on diet and T1D here on FUD.
For us, the lower carb stuff has been easier on the diabetes and on me. We are trying to go a towards higher carb due to the running that EH is doing, and getting the hang of it has been difficult, to say the least. Having been really focused on whole foods, minimally processed as our diet for many years, I was shocked at how hard it was to actually increase carbs to the level that would be needed for glycogen recovery on that format of eating. (We do subscribe to the “eat good food, the closer it looks to how it came out of the ground or animal, the better” theory.)
And, @Michel I wonder if you have to watch your weight, because this forum makes me want to go eat all of the things?! So many tasty sounding meals and foods and treats come up! It’s fun, but I feel the same way. I don’t need to take in enough calories to fuel a 7 mile run everyday either! Have to remind myself of this.
Good decision! These types of films usually do not give an accurate representation of the scientific evidence. Anyone who knows how to use a camera can make these documentaries about virtually any topic. There’s always some ‘expert’ who is willing to tell you what you want to hear. Sometimes I get the impression they all follow the same basic script. A journalist pretending to be naive introduces problem X about which he/she always has been taught Y, but now he/she has begun doubt that. And then you’re invited to follow him on his journey to discover if Y is true. Of course he has absolutely no idea where that journey is going to end (read: he has already made up his mind and is going to pick all the ‘leading experts’ who confirm his ‘new’ opinion).
I bet they would have gone low carb if they had been shown a similarly scaremongering anti-sugar documentary instead of an anti-fat film. Most people don’t bother to do some research after watching such a film. They seem to believe whichever food film they happen to see first. If it’s an anti-fat film, that’s what they’re going to believe. If it’s an anti-sugar film, they’ll believe that.