When it comes to food science, one of the most dangerous sentences in the English language is: “experts say…”
Over the years, findings from corporate-backed ‘studies’ have created untold confusion around eggs, seed oils, and of course, red meat like beef.
Many studies have found contradictory findings, but present only one side as an absolute fact. It doesn’t help that major news networks have the habit of introducing newly-sprung research studies into the national nutritional orthodoxy, often with only footnote mention of the need for further research.
With different authorities saying very different things about the same foods, it’s hard to know which foods are genuinely ‘heart-healthy’ these days. This is especially true of tallow and butter: two of the ‘healthiest’ or ‘most dangerous’ cooking fats, depending on who you ask.
Join me in this article to explore why groups like the AHA still believe saturated fat is the cause of heart disease (even in the face of new, evidence-backed dietary guidelines), and to see a nuanced view of the research. That way, you can make more informed decisions for your own diet.
Article overview
- The war on saturated fat has created mass confusion around foods like butter and beef tallow, which humans have eaten safely for thousands of years.
- Despite ongoing disagreement between the AHA and the newly released Dietary Guidelines, the evidence no longer supports a clear link between saturated fat consumption and heart disease.
- Almost 70 years of low-fat dietary orthodoxy has coincided with record-high rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the US.
- Eating whole, real foods — including animal-based fats — typically has a net positive effect on your metabolic health.
A high-level overview of the war on saturated fat
Butter and beef tallow are both animal-based saturated fats, meaning they’re solid at room temperature. They’ve been part of the average human diet for thousands of years.
They’ve also been the subject of intense scrutiny over the years.
Look back on the food pyramids of the 1980s and ’90s. All fats and oils were to be used sparingly, but if and when you added them to your plate, you were to use unsaturated fats like canola and vegetable oils. The AHA suggests that, even now, saturated fat should be limited to just 6% of your total daily energy intake.
So you can imagine how confusing this made things when the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) jointly developed the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This method encourages you to eat increased amounts of saturated fat (i.e., butter and beef tallow) as part of their healthy cooking options.
But in response to the January Dietary Guidelines, the AHA released a cautionary statement telling Americans that:
“[W]e encourage consumers to prioritize plant-based proteins, seafood and lean meats and to limit high-fat animal products including red meat, butter, lard and tallow, which are linked to increased cardiovascular risk.”
So, who’s right and who’s wrong?
Despite what social media might say, the AHA and USDA aren’t in complete disagreement. Both agree that olive oil is a heart-healthy cooking oil option. Plus, the AHA does give its blessing for animal proteins (just in limited amounts). Both organizations strongly agree on the need to limit processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and added sugar.
But with very clear deviations around butter and tallow, which organization should you trust? And if you get it wrong, will your heart be in danger?
Truth be told, we have an abundance of research in both directions. But I’d like to draw your attention to some of the most recent and relevant.
Current research shows there are no clear links between limits on saturated fat and reducing heart disease. And while there’s a lot to unpack here, the researchers summarize this well:
“The idea that saturated fats cause heart disease, called the diet-heart hypothesis, was introduced in the 1950s, based on weak, associational evidence. Subsequent reexaminations of this evidence by nutrition experts have now been published in >20 review papers, which have largely concluded that saturated fats have no effect on cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality or total mortality. The global re-evaluation of saturated fats that has occurred over the past decade implies that caps on these fats are not warranted and should no longer be part of national dietary guidelines. Conflicts of interest and longstanding biases stand in the way of updating dietary policy to reflect the current evidence.”
We also know that, over the last 70 years of AHA guidance, American heart health is at an all-time low. And though the alarm has been raised to limit saturated fat even further, the average American has been steadily nudged into a world of terrible foodstuffs and terrible health, and seemingly ever-increasing amounts of prescription medications designed to handle the fallout.
The numbers are grim for the United States. Currently, our populace:
- Faces the highest rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the world.
- Lives approximately 2.7 years less than the United Kingdom (not including healthspan)
- Suffers from poor health among young people, to the point where 77% of US military-aged youth can’t qualify for military duty primarily due to chronic diseases
- Demonstrates pre-diabetes in a third of its teens, with 20% of children and adolescents demonstrating obesity, and over 18% of young adults demonstrating fatty liver disease.
American health standards are as low as they have been for decades. And yet, we’ve been subbing saturated fats for high-carb meals, low-fat yogurt products, and margarine all the while.
At this point, it’s clearly time to try something new. That means going back to the basics with whole, real fat sources.
What about N = 1?
In a world of conflicting studies and stances, the beef, butter, and tallow debate will have to be settled in the kitchen. This means starting with your health first, and making decisions that have your own metabolic health in mind.
And yes, the jury is out on how the revised nutritional standards will ultimately affect American dietary and cardiac health. But what we know from recent statistics is that the vast amount of unhealthiness in America traces back to our diets under the prior recommendations. Adjusting your diet to whole, real foods will only have a net positive on your metabolic health.
And while there’s quite a lot of research to sift through on the topic, I can help direct you to some resources to get started:
It’s time to talk about saturated fat