While science is usually pretty straightforward in that it asks a question and then provides an answer, it can also be awfully confusing. Virtually anything can be supported by science, which can make it pretty annoying when you’re trying to figure out what is best for you, according to science.
As such, science is still swimming in this grey area when it comes to the role of fat in diabetes. Our country has spent several decades demonizing fat to the point that a fat-free life became synonymous with a healthy life. Fat is linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, so it must be bad, right?
Well, not really.
Before looking to science, you can first look to common sense: french fries are bad, and avocados are good. Even so, it’s important to have a general understanding of which types of foods can help you and which can harm you.
Why Saturated Fat is Good For You
Since the demonization of fat, and the entirely unhealthy food pyramid of the 90s, many scientists have been exploring the topic of saturated fat to see just how bad it is for the body. What they found nearly shocked the science world: saturated fat actually didn’t do any harm.
In fact, not only did they concluded that saturated fat didn’t do any harm to the body, but they have also been finding that it is linked to better health!
In one longitudinal study, the researchers asked participants to keep a detailed log of their 
food intake over the course of 20 years. They compared these food logs to their health statistics at the end of the study to find links between the two. They discovered that people who ate more saturated fat had a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The catch? It all depends on the source of the fat.
When they broke down the details even further, they found that people who got the majority of their fat from dairy products fared better than those who got their fat from meat products. With this information, they concluded that saturated fats from dairy products could help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Another study found similar results. The group of researchers looked even more closely at the meat issue. What they found was that red meat wasn’t all that harmful if it was grass-fed and high-quality. In contrast, they found that those who consumed high amounts of processed meat were more at risk for developing diabetes and heart disease than those who ate high-quality meats.
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here you have it. Once again, high-quality, natural products prove to be good for you. Living with diabetes does not have to be all about restriction. Instead, living (in general) should really be about eating what our bodies are designed to eat (all natural, whole foods) and monitoring how our bodies react, individually.
[expand title=”References“]
Science Daily. Link #1. Link #2. Accessed March 13, 2017.
Greatist. URL Link. Accessed March 13, 2017.
Mercola. URL Link. Accessed March 13, 2017.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. URL Link. Accessed March 13, 2017.
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