Saturated fats: more than just coconut oil
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This is a crosspost with Literature Review, I figured that there's good dietary guidelines and objectives in this little writeup.
Thanks to @haidut for collecting a good amount of odd-chain fatty acid research. Odd-chain saturated fatty acids are an easy pro-metabolism nutrient to get into the diet.
Odd-chain fatty acids are present in milk and there's evidence that pentadecanoic(C15:0) and heptadecanoic(C17:0) acids are present in many foods' fat in proportions equivalent to dairy. These foods include fish, seaweed, and even vegetables- though obviously the vegetables are not a great source due to low fat content- the amount of BCFA can be altered(increased) by fermentation, though levels remain low.
Here are two links to foods sorted by their content of C15:0 and C17:0
One quart of whole milk is 976 grams at 3.25% fat(in the US)- this means ~32 grams of fat. This would come out to ~390 mg of C15:0 and ~195mg of C17:0. This meets the upper-range and then some for recommended C15:0 intake. C17:0 is established as a PPARδ agonist and PPARδ agonism via aspirin was connected to the amelioration of NAFLD- more generally, PPARδ is connected to general metabolic wellbeing. C15:0 is an established PPARδ and PPARα agonist, as well.
In addition to the odd-chain fatty acids, I would draw attention of peaters to the branched-chain fatty acids and long-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids are getting some attention and there's a growing body of research to suggest positive effects. @haidut has collected a study here. I would also add his forum post for DeFibron- which uses methyl saturated fatty acids(present in actionable quantities in dairy and ruminant meat)
BCFAs are anti-endotoxin and are incorporated preferentially by bacteria like Staph into their endotoxins which reduces TLR2 activation by reduced immunostimulation and allowance of endotoxin "inactivation" by common lipases.
Staph incorporate unsaturated fatty acids(UFA) over BCFA if they cannot produce BCFA themselves due to resource scarcity or demand for lipid synthesis is high. This flexibility in the Staph fats gives rise to the possibility for increased numbers of antimicrobial-resistant Staph- facilitated by diets rich in unsaturated fatty acids, specifically linoleic acid and arachidonic acid.
Per capita intake estimates say that Americans consume ~400-500mg BCFAs daily, however, dairy product and milk consumption are not normally-distributed, so a per-capita intake is not an exact depiction of what the average or median American is really eating.
Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if BCFA intake by most Americans was half of this amount, especially amongst vegetarians and vegans and Gen Z(the latter are the lowest milk and dairy consuming generation in US history). Additionally, there is pervasive stigma in the Gen Z community with 49% describing shame at ordering dairy in front of peers.
For reference:
"Our data indicate that BCFA intake can exceed the estimated per capita consumption of 492 mg/d by at least two-fold with common intakes of popular foods. For example, daily consumption of 150 g (5.3 oz) of cooked ground beef (18% fat, with 1.8%wt BCFA on average), two cups (473 ml) of whole milk (3.25%fat, 2%wt BCFA), and 57 g (2 oz) of cow’s milk-based cheese (25% fat, 1.8%wt BCFA on average) contains about 1050 mg BCFA. If the cows’ milk cheese was replaced with sheep cheese (31% fat and 2.7%wt BCFA), then the meal BCFA would exceed 1700 mg BCFA, or three fold the average intake."150g of cooked ground beef at ~85% lean, 2 cups of whole milk, and 2oz cheddar cheese is 65g of protein and 56g of fat(1.3g omega-6) on cronometer, btw.
To summarize, there are many reasons why dairy products are tied to health and well-being- part of this is the numerous and healthful saturated fatty acids. A quart a day keeps the doctor away! Be sure to eat your seafood and your ruminant meat too!
@haidut you should transfer all of your idealabs product posts here to the forum. @brad could we make a section in products for information pertaining to idealabs and other peaty product producers? A place for sellers to list their wares. I'm certain others on the forum would appreciate it.
