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Saturated Fat in 2025: What the Evidence Shows · Doctor Turned Health Coach

• 0:21
  Today, let's dive into the topic of saturated fat.
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  Now, in 2025, it has become a contentious topic, and that's okay,
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  sometimes we have to discuss these things,
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  even if they're contentious, because there are people who believe that saturated
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  fat does not lead to heart disease,
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  meaning it does not increase the plaque that deposits in the arteries that then
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  can potentially lead to cardiovascular disease.
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  And they might be right, because most of medicine works not based on true facts,
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  but on evidence that we've gathered for a certain phenomenon, right?
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  We have no other way of explaining the human body other than what we observe,
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  what we see under the microscope, tests that we do, observational studies that
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  we do, randomized controlled trials.
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  So we have to go with the information at hand. If we go based on current evidence,
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  it appears that people who are at risk for heart disease,
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  not just everyone, but people who are at risk for heart disease,
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  who consume more saturated fat than about 5-6% of their total daily calorie intake.
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  These individuals will develop plaque. this plaque will develop heart disease.
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  So they are at a disadvantage if they consume saturated food with saturated fat.
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  That said, we're saturated fat, so that's mostly well-known,
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  but as a great review here, it's pretty much animal-based products.
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  So we're talking about dairy, chicken, beef, and all of the things that are associated with that.
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  So pork, right, animal-based stuff has saturated fat.
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  It doesn't mean that you have to cut out all saturated fat. Remember,
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  saturated fat, it's only a problem when you're taking in more than a certain amount.
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  Up to a certain amount, it's perfectly fine. So somebody might ask me,
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  like, hey, can I add some milk, like whole milk, to my coffee?
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  Well, look, if you're adding a little bit of whole milk every day to your coffee,
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  and you're otherwise not consuming any other saturated fat, it's perfectly fine.
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  But it might become a problem if you're also having a glass of milk later in the day and then,
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  let's say you also have some like beef or like a steak so that's usually where
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  it kind of adds up a little bit and it's again it may not be dangerous because
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  you may not be at risk if for example you have no single family history of heart
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  disease of heart attack of stroke or.
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  Maybe consuming saturated fat in you may not cause any problems because the
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  way saturated fat works is some people will absorb a lot of it from their diet
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  and some people will absorb very little.
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  But we don't know who you are. There are tests where we could tease that out,
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  but these aren't easy tests to do.
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  And the interpretation of the results is not always 100% accurate.
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  So that said, most of us are probably going to do better limiting our saturated
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  fat intake to somewhere around 5% to 6% of total calories.
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  So let's say however much saturated fat comes into your diet,
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  it's only 5% to 6% of your daily total calorie needs.
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  So if you, let's say, are in your 30s and 40s, not very active,
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  so you need about 1,800 calories a day of food coming in, about 5% of that can be from saturated fat.
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  And if you're at very low risk of heart disease or much lower risk, you can go 9% to 10%.
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  And if you, again, have no risk, and that can be determined based on,
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  you know, all of the different risk factors for heart disease,
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  from blood tests to family history, you could probably have quite a bit more without any concern.
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  If you're ever in doubt, always meet with a competent clinician,
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  assess your risk, and determine what things are adding to your overall risk.
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  And one of the best ways is to look at your total cholesterol profile.
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  If that is starting to trend up, it could indicate that you might be at risk for heart disease.
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  And just a small adjustment in your saturated fat intake can be really beneficial.
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  But of course, remember, if you replace your saturated fat intake for a bunch
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  of sweets and sugar and pastries, that's a problem.
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  One could argue that maybe it's better to consume more saturated fat than sugars
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  in that case. But again, every case is unique and individualized.