Metabolic Medical Newsletter #5 | November 2025 | The Most Dangerous Man You’ve Never Heard Of and a Saturated Scapegoat

Crisco marks a turning point in our health history—it’s where the era of synthetic fats begins. Science History Institute, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

If you asked any adult what they should avoid eating to prevent “heart disease,” atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), they would almost certainly say “saturated fat and cholesterol.” This has been the dominant message of national food guides and cardiovascular organisations for decades, recommending fewer than 10% of our calories come from saturated fat. But what if these demonised lipids were wrongly accused? What exactly are saturated fats and cholesterol? Due to corporate influence, we have unwittingly replaced a safe, natural option with a synthetic toxin, harming multiple generations of people. We need to unlearn everything we thought we knew about fats. But first, let’s clarify our chemistry!

When we eat “fat”, we are actually consuming triglycerides. These consist of three chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms attached to a glycerol backbone. Fatty acids are further classified based on how their carbon atoms are linked. If they have only single bonds, it's a saturated fatty acid, usually solid at room temperature. Sources of saturated fats include animal meats, eggs, dairy, coconut, and chocolate. If there is one double bond, it’s a monounsaturated fatty acid, or MUFA. These are liquid at room temperature and are abundant in avocados, olives, and macadamia nuts. If you guessed that a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) has multiple double bonds, then you win a gold star! PUFAs include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as seed oils like corn, canola, cottonseed, soya, sunflower, safflower, rapeseed, and rice bran. They are also liquid at room temperature and are found in high amounts in fish and plants. Interestingly, all foods (except sugar) contain a mix of all three types of fatty acids.¹ When eating a steak, there is more MUFA (yes, just like the “heart healthy” olive oil) than saturated fatty acids. Although omega-3 & 6 are essential for our brain structure and function, we tend to consume too much pro-inflammatory omega-6 and not enough anti-inflammatory omega-3, but that's a topic for a different newsletter!

But what about cholesterol? You won’t find it in plants; they contain their own plant sterols that are similar, but quite different. Cholesterol is found exclusively in animal products like dairy, meats, eggs, and fish. Unlike fatty acids, cholesterol has a complex steroid ring structure that makes it a lipid-soluble compound. As I may have mentioned before: “cholesterol is a nutrient and not a disease.” In fact, cholesterol is present in every one of our 40 trillion cells; it helps keep our cell membranes soft and flexible. Cholesterol is also the essential structural component for all our sex hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids. If we don’t consume enough cholesterol, our body will produce it. Conversely, if we consume a lot, our clever body will reduce its production. 

Animal fats have always been part of our diet. We have evolved over two million years by consuming a meat based diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Historically, cost has limited access to these essential nutrients and energy sources. It is only in the past 60 years that our intake has been restricted due to corporate influence and the manufactured fear of disease. To understand our confusion, we need to look back to the 20th century. I am grateful for the writings of Dr. Nina Teicholz and Gary Taubes for revealing the story I’ve summarized below. ^2,3

In 1911, to utilise leftover industrial cottonseed oil, Procter and Gamble developed Crisco, a seed oil high in PUFA. Crisco was an instant hit: it was less expensive than animal fats, and although it resembled lard, it was suitable for those with religious objections to pork. This marked a significant turning point in our history as we began to consume synthetic fats. Additionally, it proved to be a lucrative venture for P&G! Shortly after, in the 1930s, ASCVD became our leading cause of death for the first time in human history. This remains true today. However, in 1955, President Eisenhower experienced his first of many heart attacks, prompting a push in medicine to take control of heart disease. Poor decisions were made, influenced by prestige and corporate interests. Much of our misinformation stems from the chaos caused by one individual: Ancel Keys, PhD.  

Keys aimed to have an influential role in shaping national decisions. In the 1950s, he created the “diet heart hypothesis.” He theorized that saturated fat and cholesterol in our diet caused increases in blood cholesterol, blocked arteries, and subsequently led to heart disease. Yes, he made ASCVD as simple as cold grease going down a cold kitchen sink! Alas, we are not that simple. Neither is reversing this falsehood. 

Persistently, Keys was unwilling to learn from his mistakes and failures. His Minnesota Coronary Experiment replaced saturated fat with PUFAs. Although this switch lowered cholesterol with PUFAs, it also led to increased mortality from ASCVD. Since the outcome was the opposite of what he hoped to prove, he hid the data and didn’t publish the study (it was later discovered and published in 2016). Later, in the world's first multicountry epidemiological study, Keys examined middle-aged men in 22 countries, assessing saturated fat consumption and heart disease. To his great frustration, after two decades, he found no “smoking gun” in saturated fat. Instead, to “prove” his theory, he cherry-picked the data and published “The Seven Countries Study,” including only the nations that supported his hypothesis. Countries like France, which have very high saturated fat and cholesterol consumption but some of the lowest rates of heart disease, weren’t included. 

In the meantime, Keys became a non-physician member of the American Heart Association (AHA) nutrition committee. Within a year, he persuaded the AHA to adopt his hypothesis as policy. In 1960, P&G donated $20 million to the AHA. The following year, in a clear demonstration of corporate bias, the AHA developed its first nutritional heart health guidelines, advising the avoidance of saturated fat while promoting the consumption of unsaturated fats, like Crisco. Keys was also honoured with Time Magazine’s prestigious “Man of the Year.” 

It didn’t take long for all the other seed oils to follow suit. We began using canola oil in food despite its original purpose as a vital engine lubricant for navy ships during World War II. Corn, soy, sunflower, and safflower PUFAs surged from the 1970s onward, promoted by doctors as being “heart friendly.” 

To our detriment, this Seven Countries Study became the foundation for every national food guide distributed by federal governments around the world starting in 1980 with the USA. It created the basis for every hospital, school, military, and government-sanctioned meal. In a global mass experiment, as we removed fats from food, we also removed flavour. To improve palatability, we increased carbohydrates to make up to 65% of our diet. Low-fat peanut butter relies on added carbs, specifically sugar, to make it edible. But all this extra carbohydrate led to frequent cycles of hunger, as carbs aren't satiating. High insulin levels cause metabolic dysfunction, chronic disease, and obesity. Our food guides, designed to prevent obesity, actually contributed to the diabetes and obesity epidemic of the last four decades. US obesity was 12% before the food guide era and now sits at 40.3%, with one in ten living with severe obesity (BMI > 40.1).⁴  This carb heavy diet caused children to develop obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver. Millions have died prematurely, lost their legs to diabetic amputations, suffered from ASCVD, and fallen victim to cancer and mental illnesses. We will never know the true cost of this mistake. No government will apologise for the harm caused. 

It is encouraging to see science making efforts to set the record straight. Cardiologists are publishing studies on the safety of dietary fats and cholesterol. In 2015, the AHA quietly, unceremoniously removed the cholesterol warning and the 35% cap on calories from fat.⁵ A 2020 article published in JACC by Astrup et al. reminded readers that whole foods should form the foundation of our diet and that many foods high in saturated fats, like dairy, are linked to lower rates of ASCVD.⁶ However, changing these old habits is difficult, as we have unintentionally created generations of people who are “fat phobic” and carb addicted. Unlearning food habits requires a cultural shift, patience, and time. I hope our governments aren't too late to the game. 

References

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-search?type=Foundation. Accessed October 29, 2025.

2. Teicholz N. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster; 2014.

3. Taubes G. Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health. New York, NY: Anchor Books; 2008. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm. Accessed October 30, 2025.

4.  Emmerich SD, Fryar CD, Stierman B, Ogden CL. Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 508. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; September 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db508.pdf. Accessed October 30, 2025.

5. Mozaffarian D, Ludwig DS. The 2015 US Dietary Guidelines: Lifting the ban on total dietary fat. JAMA.2015;313(24):2421-2422. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.5941. PMID: 26103023.

6. Astrup, A, Magkos, F, Bier, D. et al. Saturated Fats and Health: A Reassessment and Proposal for Food-Based Recommendations: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. JACC. 2020 Aug, 76 (7) 844–857. doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.05.077