What percentage of Saturated Fat intake is stored?

[j.]

A diet high in saturated fat raises saturated fat in rabbit adipose tissue only modestly, whereas a diet high in polyunsaturates increases PUFA levels in adipose tissue dramatically

Link

 

[Wilfrid]

Hi J,

I think that the explanation is pretty simple.
All of the fats used in the experiment are from the vegetable kingdom and in rabbits like in all animals the fatty acids position on the glycerol is what is really essential because the saturated fat derivated from seed oils can not be store and they are not actually absorbed.


In summary, seed oils containing the usual range of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids tend to have the polyunsaturated components in position sn-2, but relatively little difference between the primary positions; less-common fatty acids tend to be concentrated in position sn-3.


Differences in the distributions of fatty acids among the positions of the glycerol moiety in triacylglycerols from natural fats and oils were first demonstrated systematically by enzymatic hydrolysis procedures, specifically pancreatic lipase hydrolysis for the analysis of the fatty acids of position sn-2 (regiospecific analysis), before complex stereospecific hydrolysis procedures were developed that permitted the complete positional distributions of the fatty acids to be determined. Because of this historical development of the analytical procedures, there has been a tendency to assume that the composition of fatty acids esterified to the sole secondary hydroxyl group must have greater importance than those of the two primary positions. It is certainly true that the composition of position sn-2 is of great importance when triacylglycerols are consumed and digested by animals, since 2-monoacyl-sn-glycerols are then formed which can be absorbed by the intestines and utilised as such.

Source: http://lipidlibrary.aocs.org/lipids/tag1/index.htm

Few weeks ago, I try to discuss this with Mary G Enig and Chris MasterJohn ( and I really like Chris articles) and sent them an email but so far no response.
I think it's important to know that some fat which are recommended as being a great source of saturated fat are not because of the complexity of the animal digestive process.
I'm not a lipid researcher but I have a great interest in lipid chemistry and spent the last 10 years of trying to figure out if what the mainstream M.D or healing practionner are saying about fat is true or not.....unfortunately it seems they are very misleading to people....
The only one who kindly replied to me was RP.
And in his reply he said: "Thanks. That's very important information".

 

[charlie]

Wilfrid, so you think dark chocolate should be avoided?

 

[cliff]

I read that whole article and I don't get how you come to the conclusion that saturated fats from plants can't be absorbed?

They never even allude to that as far as I can tell. They are basically just talking about the different fat composition of seed oils and animal fats.

 

[Wilfrid]

Hi Cliff,

I'm at work now but try the following links:

Effect of triglyceride structure on fat absorption. Umberto BRACCO. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. (1994), 60 (Suppl.), 1002S -1009S

- The positional distribution of fatty acids in palm oil and lard influences their biologic effect in rats. Serge C. RENAUD, Jean C. RUF and Dominique PETITHORY. J. Nutr. (1995), 125, 229 – 237

And the works of Jean Graille Phd on palm oil.

More refs to come if u want

 

[Wilfrid]

Also the following:

http://www.australianoilseeds.com/__dat ... 8/Neoh.pdf

And this one on the importance of the sn2 position on human lipid profile:

http://www.jacn.org/content/29/3_Supplement_1/253S.full

 

[j.]

I guess another possibility is that some saturated fat is used for energy and not stored so there is a little bit less stored compared to what one ate.

 

[Wilfrid]

And here with a simply but yet highly understandable explanation:

http://books.google.fr/books?id=z8EoP-5 ... es&f=false

You can go directly to the bottom of page 12 for a quick resume on palmitic and stearic acid absorption when they are on the sn1 and sn3 position on the glycerol skeleton.(like in palm oil and cocoa butter)

I have this book but cannot scan it.....

 

[cliff]

Thanks for those wilfred!

Seems like cows milk fat has the same problem? From the first study-
"Long-chain fatty acids in external (sn-1 and sn-3) positions may impair fat absorption and therefore the physiological response to dietary fats. Lower digestibility of bovine milk fat compared with that of human milk is related to the different position of palmitic acid in both fats."

I wonder how this effects humans tho, it would be very interesting to see a comparison of all the plant/fat oils but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

[j.]

Still, those who ate chocolate fat had the lowest PUFA stored in their bodies.

So if our guide to eat a fat is which of them minimize PUFA storage, cocoa butter is the best of those fats.

 

[Wilfrid]

Still, those who ate chocolate fat had the lowest PUFA stored in their bodies.

So if our guide to eat a fat is which of them minimize PUFA storage, cocoa butter is the best of those fats.

You are right.
Because in cocoa butter, oleic acid (which is a MUFA and not a PUFA) occupy the sn2 position on the glycerol and this explain why PUFA have the lowest levels stored in the rabbit's bodies when they were fed cocoa butter fat.
The other fats in the study have mainly PUFA on the sn2 position which make them more bioavailable for tissue storage.

 

[Wilfrid]

Wilfrid, so you think dark chocolate should be avoided?

Hi Charlie,

Sorry for the late reply.
No,no,no I would never give up on cocoa/chocolate.
This is a really nutrient dense food and it was never my goal to convince anyone to give up on cocoa!
My point was to outlined the fact that human/animal's digestive process is really complex and that is not so simple to reduce a fat to his fatty acids profile (in his crude form) which greatly vary after the digestion and assimilation.

:)

 

[j.]

Wilfrid, what are your thoughts on beef fat and coconut oil?

 

[charlie]

Wilfrid, so you think dark chocolate should be avoided?

Hi Charlie,

Sorry for the late reply.
No,no,no I would never give up on cocoa/chocolate.
This is a really nutrient dense food and it was never my goal to convince anyone to give up on cocoa!
My point was to outlined the fact that human/animal's digestive process is really complex and that is not so simple to reduce a fat to his fatty acids profile (in his crude form) which greatly vary after the digestion and assimilation.

:)

Wilfrid, I appreciate the response. I also appreciate you digging into this as you have. Just as Ray Peat said, this is very important information. I will be continuing to watch this subject.

 

[Wilfrid]

Wilfrid, what are your thoughts on beef fat and coconut oil?

I like my T-bone!!
I think that beef fat is a reliable source of MUFA and SA and a very good source of CLA (like milk, cream and butter,eggs) with little PUFA ( at least depending on what the cattle are fed).
A guy made a good scientifics compilation of the hoax regarding beef fat and saturated fat and their "correlation" to cancer.

http://fri.wisc.edu/docs/pdf/satfat.pdf

For coconut oil, I use it every day (at least twice a day) on my whole body (after showering) to bypass the digestive system and to make sure that the high saturated fatty acids content of coconut (at least a fair amount of it) goes directly to the lymphatic system via the skin.
Anyway, I prefer to favor sugar / protein ratio vs fat ( saturated or not)....
But when I use animal fat I always use high quality cream (raw or pasteurized) vs butter (the fat content in cream is lower than in butter and, like I said above, I prefer to reduce my fat intake). I think in case of animal fat, the quality of the foods used to fed the cattle is very important.

 

[gretchen]

Still, those who ate chocolate fat had the lowest PUFA stored in their bodies.

So if our guide to eat a fat is which of them minimize PUFA storage, cocoa butter is the best of those fats.

Do you really think so ? Chocolate makes me feel weird.

 

[j.]

Do you really think so ? Chocolate makes me feel weird.

I was only talking about fats in the study. Coconut oil and butter have less PUFA and could be better.

 

[pboy]

for what its worth...I notice that when I down a spoonful of coconut straight it kinda feels heavy like theres some slow or indigestion going on
but if I chew it for a good 2-5 minutes (yes, chew the oil) and literally use lingular lipase to completely split the fat before I swallow it, its like instant energy with no heaviness

I know the lingular (salivary) lipase enzyme works on triglycerides different than the intestinal (pancreatic) lipases...so maybe if predigested in the mouth via prolonged chewing certain fatty acids become available that normally would not be liberated by the gut alone

 

[charlie]

pboy, that is very interesting.

 

[j.]

In the latest interview Peat mentioned that saturated fat is burned preferentially and that would explaion why the percentage of PUFA stored is higher than consumed. Not saying the other reasons people mentioned aren't valid.