The Fat Fear That's Keeping You Sick

You've heard about low-carb. Maybe even keto. The results look promising—people reversing diabetes, losing weight, feeling better.

But there's one thing stopping you from trying it.

Fat.

The idea of eating butter, cream, fatty meat—it feels wrong. Dangerous. You've spent decades being told saturated fat clogs your arteries, raises your cholesterol, causes heart disease.

So you hesitate. Maybe you'll try a "moderate" approach instead. Cut carbs a little, but keep the fat low. Just to be safe.

What if that fear—that deeply ingrained fear of fat—is based on science that never actually proved what you were told?

What if the research designed to show saturated fat is deadly actually showed the opposite? And what if that data was buried in basements for 40 years?

This isn't conspiracy theory. This is documented history.

The Studies That Disappeared

In the 1960s and 70s, researchers conducted massive trials to answer one question: Does replacing saturated fat with vegetable oil prevent heart disease?

Over 75,000 people across multiple trials. Randomized controlled trials—the gold standard of research, where participants are randomly assigned to different groups to eliminate bias. Millions of dollars. Years of work.

They were designed to prove the guidelines correct.

Instead, they showed vegetable oils increased deaths.

The Sydney Diet Heart Study

Australia, 1966-1973. 458 men who'd already had heart attacks. Half ate their normal diet. Half replaced animal fats with safflower oil—pure omega-6 linoleic acid, exactly what guidelines recommended.

The safflower oil group's cholesterol dropped, just as predicted.

But the group eating vegetable oil had 62% higher mortality (meaning they were 62% more likely to die during the study period).

The study ended in 1973. The death data? Never published.

Forty years later, in 2013, an NIH researcher named Christopher Ramsden tracked down the last surviving investigator. The complete data had been sitting in boxes in a garage in Sydney.

When Ramsden finally published the full results in BMJ: Replacing saturated fat with omega-6 vegetable oils increased death from heart disease.

The Minnesota Coronary Experiment

Even larger: 9,400 participants in nursing homes and mental hospitals. Four and a half years. Double-blind (neither participants nor researchers knew who was in which group, eliminating bias). Meticulously controlled—every meal documented.

One group ate saturated fat from animal products. The other replaced it with corn oil and corn oil margarine.

The corn oil group's cholesterol dropped 14%.

For every 30-point drop in cholesterol, there was a 22% higher risk of death.

The study ended in 1973. Partial results appeared in 1989—sixteen years later—claiming "a favorable trend" in younger patients, though overall results showed no benefit.

The full data? Remained unpublished until 2016.

A cardiologist at Mayo Clinic found it in his late father's basement. His father had been one of the lead investigators.

When finally published in BMJ: Replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils did not reduce heart disease or death. If anything, it made things worse.

When asked why they hadn't published, one investigator admitted: "We were just so disappointed in the way they turned out."

What About All The Other Evidence?

Since 2010, over 25 independent comprehensive research reviews (where scientists examine all available studies together to find overall patterns) have looked at all randomized controlled trial data on saturated fat.

Their consistent finding: Saturated fat shows no significant association with heart disease, stroke, or death.

A 2023 overview concluded: "The data is based primarily on low and very low certainty evidence."

Translation: The case against saturated fat was never as strong as you were told.

So What Actually Causes Heart Disease?

Here's what decades of suppressed research revealed:

The problem was never saturated fat. The problem is industrial seed oils—especially combined with high carbohydrate intake.

The Seed Oil Story Nobody Tells

Before 1900, humans got 2-3% of calories from linoleic acid (also called omega-6—a type of fat). We ate whole foods—meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, some grains and fruits.

Then came industrial food processing.

Manufacturers discovered they could extract oils from seeds and grains—corn, soybeans, cottonseed, canola, sunflower, safflower. These oils were initially industrial waste products—not palatable, prone to going rancid, and bitter tasting.

But through industrial processing, they could create cheap, shelf-stable cooking oils that tasted neutral.

Today, people in industrialized countries get 20% or more of calories from seed oils.

That's a 20-fold increase in just 100 years. Your body hasn't had time to adapt.

What Happens When You Eat Seed Oils

Linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid) is highly unstable. It gets damaged easily—during processing, during storage, and when heated for cooking.

When linoleic acid oxidizes (gets damaged by exposure to air, heat, or light—similar to how metal rusts), it forms harmful compounds called OXLAMs (oxidized linoleic acid metabolites).

Research shows these compounds:

Kill healthy cells
Damage your DNA
Cause dangerous mutations in cells
Promote cancer growth
Cause plaque buildup in arteries (atherosclerosis)
Make your blood more likely to form clots

Your body incorporates this linoleic acid into the outer walls of cells throughout your body—including your heart and brain. Once there, it makes your cells highly vulnerable to damage from oxidation (a process similar to rust forming on metal).

Studies show:

Greater amounts of damaged linoleic acid are found in the "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and artery-clogging plaques of people with heart disease
How much the linoleic acid is damaged determines how severe the artery disease becomes
The cells lining your blood vessels damage cholesterol by forming linoleic acid compounds that harm blood vessel walls
High linoleic acid stored in body fat is linked with increased risk of heart disease

A 2017 study found men with clogged arteries had significantly higher levels of linoleic acid and an inflammatory compound it creates (called arachidonic acid) in their "bad" cholesterol—and their cholesterol showed much more damage from oxidation.

The Processing Makes It Worse

To make these oils shelf-stable, manufacturers:

Heat them to over 400°F (denaturing protective compounds)
Use chemical solvents for extraction
Bleach them (removing color)
Deodorize them (because they smell rancid after processing)

What's left is so devoid of nutrients and so chemically stable that even intestinal bacteria won't eat them. That's not a sign of purity—it's a sign they're not recognized as food.

And those "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oils in the 1970s studies? They contained up to 21.8% trans fats—now recognized as extremely harmful and banned in many countries.

But Here's The Critical Part

The studies didn't just compare saturated fat to seed oils.

Both groups ate high-carbohydrate diets.

This matters because your body handles fat completely differently depending on insulin levels.

When you eat Carbohydrates, your Blood Sugar rises. Your body responds by releasing insulin—a hormone that acts like a key to unlock cells so sugar can enter. But when insulin is high, it also:

Locks fat in storage—you can't burn it for fuel
Forces any dietary fat straight into fat cells—including damaged seed oils
Triggers your liver to make saturated fat from excess blood sugar (a process called de novo lipogenesis—literally "making new fat")

So the trials tested: High-carb diet + animal fat versus High-carb diet + seed oils.

Both groups kept insulin chronically elevated. Neither could effectively burn fat for energy. And in the seed oil group, the damaged compounds from oxidized linoleic acid kept getting stored in their cells and tissues.

The seed oil groups did worse because they were storing and burning highly unstable, easily oxidized fats. The saturated fat groups stored more stable fats less prone to oxidative damage.

But the real problem in both groups? Chronically high insulin from high-carb diets.

The Low-Fat Disaster

Understanding this explains the paradox:

For 50 years, saturated fat intake declined while carbohydrate intake increased (following guidelines). During this same period:

Obesity rates tripled
Type 2 diabetes exploded
Heart disease remained the #1 killer
Metabolic disease became epidemic

We stripped fat from foods and replaced it with sugar and refined starches. "Low-fat" yogurt, cookies, salad dressing—all loaded with sugar to make them palatable.

This drove insulin higher. Made fat burning impossible. Made people hungrier. Made the problem worse.

And we blamed people for lacking willpower.

The Truth About Saturated Fat

Here's what happens when you dramatically reduce carbohydrates and allow your body to burn fat as fuel:

Saturated fat becomes protective.

When insulin is low:

Your body burns fat efficiently as fuel—including saturated fat
You're not constantly storing damaged seed oils
Your liver stops making excess saturated fat from blood sugar
Your cells can use saturated fat for energy and to repair themselves

Saturated fats are heat-stable. They don't get damaged as easily as seed oils when heated. When you cook with butter, ghee, or coconut oil, they don't form the same toxic compounds.

This is why humans thrived for millions of years eating animal fats. It's why populations eating traditional high-fat diets (Inuit, Masai, traditional European diets) had low rates of heart disease.

Saturated fat isn't the problem. It's what we combined it with—and what we replaced it with—that created disaster.

What About Cholesterol?

The Minnesota study showed something remarkable: Lower Cholesterol meant higher death risk, especially in the elderly.

Multiple studies now show the same pattern: Among older adults, those with the lowest cholesterol have higher mortality. Those with the highest cholesterol often live longest.

Why? Because:

Cholesterol is essential for hormone production
It's critical for brain function
It's part of your immune system
It's needed for cellular repair
Low cholesterol in elderly is often a sign of frailty and illness

The "cholesterol causes heart disease" theory was based on one observation: cholesterol is found in clogged arteries.

But damaged cholesterol is in those plaques. Specifically, cholesterol that's been damaged by oxidized linoleic acid from seed oils.

When your "bad" cholesterol (LDL) contains high amounts of easily-damaged linoleic acid from seed oils, it gets oxidized. That damaged LDL is what harms arteries.

The Insulin Resistance Connection

Here's what most doctors don't explain: Insulin resistance is the primary driver of the dangerous cholesterol pattern—small, dense LDL particles (sdLDL), low HDL ("good" cholesterol), and high triglycerides.

When cells become resistant to insulin (from chronically eating too many carbohydrates), your body produces more and more insulin trying to compensate. That high insulin:

Triggers your liver to make more triglycerides
Causes formation of small, dense LDL particles (sdLDL - the type that actually get stuck in artery walls)
Lowers HDL cholesterol

These small, dense LDL particles are easily damaged by oxidized linoleic acid from seed oils, creating the toxic combination that damages arteries.

Fix the insulin resistance by reducing carbohydrates, and this pattern typically reverses—even if you're eating more saturated fat.

The problem isn't cholesterol itself. It's what damages the cholesterol—and the metabolic dysfunction that creates the vulnerable particles in the first place.

So What Should You Actually Avoid?

If your goal is to try Keto or Low-Carb —if you want to see if it helps your diabetes, weight, or metabolic health—you don't need to fear natural fats.

What you should avoid:

Industrial Seed Oils:

Soybean oil (most common in processed foods)
Canola oil
Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Sunflower oil
Safflower oil
Grapeseed oil
Rice bran oil
"Vegetable oil" (usually soybean)

These are in almost every processed food, restaurant meal, salad dressing, mayonnaise, baked good.

What you can eat without fear:

Traditional Fats:

Butter (preferably from grass-fed animals)
Ghee
Beef tallow (from grass-fed if possible)
Pork lard (from pastured pigs if possible)
Duck fat
Coconut oil
High-quality olive oil (extra virgin, stored in dark bottles)
Avocado oil (if pure—many are cut with seed oils)

Natural Foods Containing Fat:

Fatty cuts of meat
Eggs (yolks included!)
Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Cheese, cream, full-fat yogurt
Nuts (in moderation—some are high in omega-6)
Avocados
Olives

These are the fats humans evolved eating. Your body knows how to use them.

The Bottom Line

The fear of saturated fat is stopping people from trying an approach that could transform their health.

The evidence:

The studies designed to prove saturated fat is deadly failed—and showed seed oils were worse
25+ comprehensive research reviews find no link between saturated fat and heart disease (link)
Industrial seed oils are a modern invention (only 100 years old) that our bodies haven't adapted to
Damaged linoleic acid compounds are proven to cause cellular damage
The real problem is keeping insulin high all the time from constantly eating carbohydrates

If you're hesitating to try low-carb or keto because you're afraid of fat, you're making your decision based on science that was never solid—and evidence that was literally hidden for 40 years.

Natural saturated fats aren't the enemy. Industrial seed oils combined with high carbohydrate intake—that's the disaster.

You don't have to live in fear of butter anymore.

Ready to Actually Try It?

This article focused on removing the fear of fat. If you're ready to learn more:

The research is there. The understanding exists. The choice is yours.

But you don't have to choose based on fear anymore. You can choose based on evidence.

References

Video documentary

"Fat Fiction" [Documentary]. Documentary Central. Duration: 1:42:23.

Suppressed Research - Sydney Diet Heart Study

Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Leelarthaepin B, et al. Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis. BMJ. 2013;346:e8707. doi:10.1136/bmj.e8707
- Recovered data indicated that replacing saturated fat with linoleic acid increased death rates from cardiovascular and all causes.

Suppressed Research - Minnesota Coronary Experiment

Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Majchrzak-Hong S, et al. Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: analysis of recovered data from Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968–73). BMJ. 2016;353:i1246. doi:10.1136/bmj.i1246
- Reanalysis showed that despite lowering cholesterol, linoleic acid did not reduce mortality and may have increased it in older adults.
Frantz ID Jr, Dawson EA, Ashman PL, et al. Test of effect of lipid lowering by diet on cardiovascular risk: The Minnesota Coronary Survey. Arteriosclerosis. 1989;9(1):129–135. PubMed
- Original publication reported no significant benefit of a corn oil–based low-saturated-fat diet on heart disease outcomes.

Systematic Reviews Finding No Link Between Saturated Fat and Heart Disease

Hooper L, Martin N, Jimoh OF, et al. Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;5(5):CD011737. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011737.pub3
- Found limited evidence that reducing saturated fat slightly lowers cardiovascular events but not overall mortality.
Talukdar JR, Steen JP, Goldenberg JZ, et al. Saturated fat, the estimated absolute risk and certainty of risk for mortality and major cancer and cardiometabolic outcomes. Syst Rev. 2023;12(1):179. doi:10.1186/s13643-023-02312-3
- Concluded that evidence linking saturated fat to major health outcomes is weak and uncertain.
Astrup A, Magkos F, Bier DM, et al. Saturated fats and health: a reassessment and proposal for food-based recommendations. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;76(7):844–857. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2020.05.077
- Recommended reevaluating dietary guidelines, noting no clear evidence that saturated fats increase cardiovascular risk.

Seed Oils, Linoleic Acid, and Oxidative Damage

DiNicolantonio JJ, O'Keefe JH. Omega-6 vegetable oils as a driver of coronary heart disease: the oxidized linoleic acid hypothesis. Open Heart. 2018;5(2):e000898. doi:10.1136/openhrt-2018-000898
- Proposed that oxidized linoleic acid metabolites from seed oils promote coronary disease.
Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Faurot KR, et al. Dietary linoleic acid–induced alterations in pro- and anti-nociceptive lipid autacoids. Mol Pain. 2017;13:1744806917727688. doi:10.1177/1744806917727688
- Showed that high linoleic acid intake alters pain-related lipid signaling molecules linked to inflammation.
Ghosh S, Kewalramani G, Yuen G, et al. Induction of mitochondrial nitrative damage and cardiac dysfunction by chronic provision of dietary ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Free Radic Biol Med. 2006;41(9):1413–1424. doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2006.08.006
- Found that chronic omega-6 fat consumption damages mitochondria and impairs heart function in animal models.
Mariamenatu AH, Abdu EM. Overconsumption of Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) versus Deficiency of Omega-3 PUFAs in Modern-Day Diets. J Lipids. 2021;2021:8848161. doi:10.1155/2021/8848161
- Reviewed imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 intake as a key factor in chronic inflammation and metabolic disease.
Venn-Watson S, Lumpkin R, Dennis EA. Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):8161. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65088-5
- Suggested that odd-chain saturated fats like pentadecanoic acid may provide health benefits typically missing from modern diets.

Linoleic Acid in Atherosclerosis

Ramsden CE, Ringel A, Feldstein AE, et al. Lowering dietary linoleic acid reduces bioactive oxidized linoleic acid metabolites in humans. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2012;87(4-5):135–141. doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2012.08.004
- Demonstrated that restricting dietary linoleic acid decreases harmful oxidized metabolites linked to inflammation.
Gao X, Huang L, Grosjean F, et al. Low-density lipoprotein stimulates osteopontin and MMP-9 expression in differentiated human THP-1 cells through lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1. Lipids Health Dis. 2014;13:24. doi:10.1186/1476-511X-13-24
- Identified LDL-induced signaling pathways promoting inflammation and tissue remodeling in vascular cells.

Historical Context and Industry Influence

Teicholz N. A short history of saturated fat: the making and unmaking of a scientific consensus. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2023;30(1):65–71. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000791
- Analyzed how industry and early flawed research shaped the anti-saturated-fat consensus in nutritional policy.

For a comprehensive list of 25+ systematic reviews finding no significant association between saturated fat and heart disease:
https://www.nutritioncoalition.us/saturated-fats-do-they-cause-heart-disease

The Fat Fear That's Keeping You Sick

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