[Villages PL]

This subject is going to be difficult and I doubt I can do it justice. To explain it fully you'd have to cover a lot of territory.

On may 6th. a column by Mona Charen appeared in the Daily Sun: "Bad science happens; always be skeptical"

And, indeed, her column made me skeptical. She claims that a new study has discovered that saturated fat does not cause heart disease. She totally believes it but I doubt that it's the whole truth. I think it was inspired by the food industry. It seems that something is not quite right, especially considering that neither the AP nor McClatchy news has covered this story. But it has been covered by the above columnist and a well known talk-radio host.

It makes me skeptical when a study isolates one dietary constituent like saturated fat and then says, "it doesn't cause heart disease". As I have said once before, this is known as "reductionism".

Most scientists who study this should know that every cell in the human body requires some saturated fat. You can't build a cell without it. If you don't consume enough saturated fat, your body will manufacture what it needs. Having said that, excess fat consumption, beyond those needs, would be pointless and possibly harmful. Too much saturated fat in one's diet can have the effect of making cells too stiff. Not to mention that fat is high in calories. And if you consume to many calories you likely would gain excess weight and that could lead to inflammation. Then inflammation could bring on heart disease. So if it is not one thing alone, like saturated fat, that causes heart disease, it is a chain of events. You have to look at the individual and his/her whole lifestyle, not just one thing in a vacuum.

This is a long story to be continued: If you would like more information, just google the following: Saturated fat does not cause heart disease