{"id":323737,"date":"2025-10-22T11:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/323737\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:51:14","slug":"truth-about-saturated-fats-revealed-as-rfk-jr-changes-diet-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/323737\/","title":{"rendered":"Truth about saturated fats revealed as RFK Jr. changes diet guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"

You butter believe this plan would be popular with carnivores and MAHA acolytes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Foods like red meat, butter<\/a>, cheese and cream have long been vilified because they are high in saturated fat, which is widely believed to raise cholesterol<\/a> and cause heart disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, it may be time to break out the steak knives. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to encourage higher saturated fat consumption in the new US dietary guidelines, which are updated every five years, The Hill reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a cabinet meeting hosted by President Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Oct. 9, 2025. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHHS and USDA remain on track to release the final 2025\u20132030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,\u201d an HHS spokesperson told The Post this week while declining to share the juicy details.<\/p>\n

Current US dietary guidelines suggest<\/a> limiting saturated fat to less than 10% of daily calories, with the American Heart Association recommending<\/a> an even lower intake of under 6% for most adults.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything to know about saturated fats as Kennedy steaks his reputation on the butter-loving, bacon-hugging glyceride.<\/p>\n

What is saturated fat?<\/p>\n

Fats are called \u201csaturated\u201d when their carbon chains are \u201csaturated\u201d with the maximum number of hydrogen atoms.<\/p>\n

This tightly-packed chemical structure is why saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature \u2014 and why they raise cholesterol.<\/p>\n

This 3D medical illustration shows the buildup of plaque in an artery, restricting blood flow. Sam \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

The straight, rigid chains of saturated fatty acids interfere with the body\u2019s ability to clear cholesterol from the blood.<\/p>\n

Unsaturated fats, on the other hand, are typically liquid at room temperature due to their more flexible structure, which indirectly promotes cholesterol clearance from the blood.<\/p>\n

They are found predominantly in plants and fish.<\/p>\n

Which foods are high in saturated fat?<\/p>\n

Saturated fats are primarily found in animal products \u2014 like red meat, skin-on poultry, eggs and full-fat dairy \u2014 but they are also present in plant-based foods like coconut and palm oils.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany whole foods have some amount of saturated fats, but some have more than others,\u201d registered dietitian Sotiria Everett<\/a>, a clinical assistant professor at Stony Brook Medicine, told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, butter and coconut oil are dietary sources that have more saturated fats, while canola oil and olive oil are lower in saturated fats and have more monounsaturated fats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturated fats are primarily found in animal products \u2014 like red meat, skin-on poultry, eggs and full-fat dairy. niloo \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Many baked goods, fried foods, fast food, sweets and snacks are high in saturated fat because they contain dairy, fatty meats or tropical oils like palm or coconut oil.<\/p>\n

Is saturated fat bad for us?<\/p>\n

Despite the bad rap, saturated fat can be beneficial. For example, all dietary fats provide the body with energy.<\/p>\n

And fat is needed to produce hormones and absorb certain vitamins, like A, D, E and K.<\/p>\n

Foods like red meat, butter, cheese and cream have long been vilified because they are high in saturated fat. Alex \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

But saturated fat has been linked to higher cholesterol<\/a>, which can lead to plaque buildup in arteries, restricting blood flow and raising the risk of heart attack and stroke.<\/p>\n

Excessive intake of saturated fat can also drive harmful inflammation<\/a> in the body and increase the risk of obesity.<\/p>\n

All fats contain nine calories per gram \u2014 more than double the four calories per gram in protein and carbohydrates.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrequently eating such foods can promote weight gain if intake isn\u2019t balanced with physical activity,\u201d Everett said.<\/p>\n

How much saturated fat should we be eating?<\/p>\n

Research indicates<\/a> that the average US adult gets about 12% of their daily calories from saturated fat.<\/p>\n

Some experts say<\/a> that\u2019s too much, while others argue<\/a> that the source of saturated fat is more important than the total amount.<\/p>\n

For example, full-fat yogurt contains saturated fat \u2014 as well as beneficial nutrients like calcium, protein and probiotics.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing aware of what foods are high in saturated fat is important, and a moderate consumption as part of a heart-healthy diet may be OK,\u201d Everett said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnprocessed meats in moderation and fermented sources of dairy, such as yogurt, may be included in diets where overall processed food intake is low.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You butter believe this plan would be popular with carnivores and MAHA acolytes. Foods like red meat, butter,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":323738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[14095,49124,26113,6922,6335,8364,210,1691,31408,1182,15010,106470,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-323737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-calories","9":"tag-cheese","10":"tag-dairy","11":"tag-diets","12":"tag-exclusive","13":"tag-food-drink","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-heart-disease","16":"tag-meat","17":"tag-nutrition","18":"tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr","19":"tag-stony-brook-university","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115417676682458707","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}