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Summary
On episode 234 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions and Nourishing Fats, to talk about the fats we should and should not be eating.
Sally argues that saturated fats have been unfairly demonized while the real culprits, industrial trans fats and liquid seed oils, get a pass. She walks through why every cell membrane needs saturated fat, why the omega-6 to omega-3 balance has gotten so skewed, and why the cholesterol theory of heart disease does not hold up.
The conversation also covers where to actually get good fats: egg yolks, lard, organ meats, bone marrow, and fish liver oil, along with the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K that depend on them.
Links
- https://nourishingtraditions.com
- Episode 463 – What we don’t know about Covid with Dr. Tom Cowan and Sally Fallon Morell
Key Takeaways
- Saturated fats are not the villain science claims. Every cell membrane needs saturated fat to stay firm, or cells become floppy and leaky. Saturated fat has been part of the human diet for thousands of years.
- The real bad fats are industrial trans fats and liquid polyunsaturated oils. Trans fats form through partial hydrogenation and the body struggles to clear them. Liquid seed oils turn rancid when heated, creating free radicals that damage cells.
- Modern diets are wildly out of balance on omega-6 to omega-3. The traditional ratio was near one to one, up to about four to one. Today Americans run closer to twenty to one because of ubiquitous industrial seed oils, and that imbalance causes problems at the cellular level.
- Saturated fat works synergistically with omega fats. Eating saturated fat alongside omega-3 and omega-6 helps the body use and conserve those more fragile fats, so smaller amounts are needed overall.
- Arachidonic acid, an omega-6 found in butter, beef fat, and egg yolks, is critical for brain function, skin, and digestion. Avoiding animal fats cuts off a nutrient the brain relies on more heavily than omega-3.
- The cholesterol theory of heart disease is built on flimsy science. Dietary cholesterol has little bearing on heart disease risk. Low cholesterol, especially when it persists for years, is linked to a shorter lifespan in women and in men over 60.
- Organ meats deserve a comeback. Ancestral cultures ate organ meats first after a kill for their arachidonic acid and vitamin content, and Sally recommends eating liver about once a week.
- Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K come mainly from animal fats. Vitamin K, found in cheese, egg yolks, butter, and duck or goose fat and liver, is essential for directing calcium into bones instead of arteries.
- Fish liver oils, like cod liver oil, differ from fish oil and are valuable sources of vitamins A and D. Fish oil is often a byproduct of high heat processing, while cod liver oil (and skate liver oil) is produced more naturally and was a household staple in America before World War II.
“For women at any age and for men over the age of 60, the higher your cholesterol, the longer you live.”
Sally Fallon Morell
