Saturated fat discussion at AOCS 2009

Some highlighted points from the Saturated fats and Health: Fats and Feelings ‘hot topic symposia’ held at the AOCS conference 2009 in Orlando FL:

-          Classifying saturated fatty acids as one group may be an oversimplification.  Each saturated fatty acid is digested differently by the human body depending on its carbon chain length, but in foods it would be difficult to separate these fatty acids since there is a large variation in their levels in different food products.

-          Strict guidelines on restricting saturated fatty acid content may not be necessary as they play a key, intricate role in our health.  But, moderation is key and human trials show neither high nor low levels of saturated fats in our diet are beneficial.

-          Saturated fats from full and low fat dairy sources have shown key benefits to human health.  Low fat dairy sources may not have any extra benefits toward health as previously thought of over full fat dairy sources.

-          D. Mozaffarian from Harvard University presented on Saturated Fat Consumption as a Major Dietary Risk Factor for CHD-How Strong is the Evidence? , and identified the following 9 dietary habits as essential for reducing risk in the development of cardiovascular disease:

1.       Seafood/Omega-3′s

2.       NO TRANS

3.       Whole grains

4.       Fruit and Vegetables

5.       Replace saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids

6.       Nuts and seeds

7.       ↓ Salt

8.       ↓ Portion size

9.       Rarely consume sweetened drinks

** Incorporating CoasunSA into food products would help in both eliminating trans fat from our diet and replacing saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids.  Also consuming products with CoasunSA would help in mediating saturated fat levels in our diets by eliminating the high levels of saturated fats consumed when eating products made with tropical oils.