Why saturated fat & cholesterol are AWESOME!
These two little no-gooders have got all the bad press in the world over the last 20-30 years, and is the bad press justified.......... NO!
The government and other parties interested in not properly analyzing the science have chosen to focus on what they want to believe, and not for the greater good and the bigger picture. There is no solid evidence that the consumption of saturated fat of cholesterol leads to ill health directly or negatively affects optimal body composition. In fact the science we are about to talk about is in favoaur of saturated fat and cholesterol for positive changes in body composition. Yes you heard right, saturated fat and cholesterol are now going to help you lose weight, gain lean muscle and get healthier.
So be prepared to fall in love with butter all over again....
For years the name of red meat has been tarnished, no more! Never again feel guilty for tucking into that steak cooked in real butter, or enjoying whole milk in your tea or porridge. Indeed the ratio of fats that you consume is very important. You really want to look to split your fat ratios equally, if not in favours of saturated fats, a solid and researched recommendation is around 10% saturated fat, 10% mono-unsaturated fat, and 10% poly-unsaturated fat from the average 30% fat intake that is recommended by many.
Any deviation from this and it could cause trouble, especially if it is in favour of poly-unsaturates (except omega 3 fats), if anything you want to swing closer to mono-unsaturates and saturates. The balance of fats provides the right cell membrane structure to all internal tissues, provides a pro/anti inflammatory balance and overall nourishing effect on the body. In reference to men good fat intake is essential for high levels of circulating hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone, this is the same with women and healthy levels of female hormones.
So the study in question is by Riechman et al (2005) who headed a scientific paper titled "Dietary and blood cholesterol and statins increase hypertrophy with resistance training". They discovered that in older adults (aged 60-69) who followed a 12 week weight training program, that followed a low cholesterol diet (5.7mg/Kg lean mass a day) their lean mass increased by 2.1 Kg (4.84 Lbs) and strength increased 86%. This is a huge difference for what is usually observed as an unhealthy diet. Increasing ones strength and overall lean muscle tissue is only regarded as a healthy adaptation - just look at the results the men got, it's clear cholesterol is super important in male hormone production, and we know testosterone and growth hormones keep you young and healthy.
The research concluded that this increase was due to cholesterols role in increasing and maintaining testosterone levels and cell membrane integrity. Other research also supports high fat diets in increasing lean mass gains and increases in overall physical performance. Additionally, among lots of other research studies, The Malmo Diet study also reported that obtaining 30% of your dietary fat from saturated fat is in no way harmful to human health, but supports optimal health and body composition.
So you have the ok from us, the ok from science, and the ok from your taste buds to tuck into that steak you have been pining after and reap the benefits of a meaner and leaner physique as a result.
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