A diet low in saturated fat? Is mine considered that?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, I keep my sodium levels to about 1,500 mg a day and I probably take in about 50-60 % of the "reccomended daily intake" of saturated fat on the nutrition labels.

Is this considered a low saturated fat diet? about half the daily reccomendation

[Kiwedin]

I suppose that's a fine amount. People still get atherosclerotic plaque buildup even when consuming the RDA for saturated fat, so it is a good idea to eat lower than what they recommend. Eating a diet based on doctor's recommendations doesn't cut out risk of getting chronic disease completely, but rather lowers your risk of getting them. Eating trans fats have also been show to raise LDL cholesterol (bad) and lower HDL cholesterol (also not a good thing), so it would probably be easier to focus on fat as a whole unless it's coming from whole plants foods like avocados, coconuts, nuts, and seeds. Sodium intake isn't something you really need to control either, unless you eat processed foods (often high in sodium). A whole foods, plant-based diet naturally does not contain much sodium, unless it's added.
Hope this helps? lol

[Asker]

I've also read studies that say saturated fat consumption isn't even as bad as they say it is... I feel like genetics plays a huge role lol. I probably take in a protein bar a day (about 15% saturated fat daily intake) and a handful or more of peanuts (probably another 15-20% of saturated fat daily consumption) and then trace amounts in other foods. Do you think it's even possible to eat like 25% or less of the daily saturated fat intake? I would find that very hard.

[Kiwedin]

Yeah, most illnesses are dependent on genetics, but our leading killers (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, etc.) are definitely diet and lifestyle related. You can have a genetic predisposition to certain things, but diet and lifestyle kind of determine whether or not you'll get a disease and to what extent it affects you. I wrote an essay this semester about Alzheimer's and diet and it was actually really interesting. In a recent study, they found that Alzheimer's patients have atherosclerotic plaque in their brains, similar to the plaque that causes heart disease, and that diet played a huge role in whether or not that plaque built up over time.
It would be very hard and unhealthy to avoid fat altogether, but as long as we're making an effort to be low-fat and eating whole, plant foods, I don't think there should be an issue. Personally, I don't think measuring and calculating an exact percentage is necessary on a truly healthy diet.