Saturated Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease (Part 1)
You’ve seen the above seal before, right? Walking through the cereal or cooking oil aisle, it’s kind of impossible to miss.
The American Heart Association’s “Heart-Healthy Certified” check is proudly stamped on cereal boxes, oatmeal, and vegetable oils.
It’s considered the “gold standard” for heart-healthy eating—a symbol most people trust without question.
I know I did…UNTIL I learned the unsettling history behind it.
What if I told you this 'Heart-Healthy' seal is built on bad science, corporate greed, and one man’s relentless pursuit to prove himself right?
Let’s back up a little.
The History
It all started in the 50s with Ancel Keys, an American nutritionist and scientist whose research shaped the dietary guidelines for decades.
Here’s how Keys and the American Heart Association tricked Americans into thinking saturated fat causes heart disease:
The Timeline
1950s: Keys discovered that high cholesterol clogs arteries and causes heart disease through a series of small studies and published over 20 papers to support his hypothesis.
1958: Keys traveled around the world to observe other country’s diets. He claimed that the nations with the highest saturated fat intake had the highest heart disease rates.
1961: Keys takes his findings to the AHA, which then advises Americans to replace saturated fat with vegetable oil. (Around this time, the AHA also accepted 20 million dollars from Crisco’s manufacturer, Procter & Gamble!!!!!)
1968–1973: Keys further tested his hypothesis by replacing saturated fats with vegetable oils in the Minnesota Coronary Experiment and observed a drop in participant’s cholesterol levels. However, unpublished data revealed a shocking twist—more on that soon.
1980: The U.S. Dietary Guidelines vilified saturated fats like butter and lard and promoted vegetable oil and shortening as heart "healthy" alternatives.
1995: The AHA introduced the Heart-Check Mark, which appeared on margarine and vegetable oils for two decades and eventually replaced butter in American kitchens.
Americans Limit Saturated Fat and Heart Disease is STILL the #1 Cause of Death…
Americans followed the dietary guidelines. Butter, eggs, and red meat vanished from dinner tables, while the sales of margarine, canola oil, and low-fat foods exploded.
And yet heart disease rates continued to climb…
So…what gives?!
Replacing natural fats with industrially produced oils turned out to be a bad idea—and the fallout has potentially caused millions of deaths.
Buried data from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment recently resurfaced, showing that the “lower cholesterol” findings didn’t support Keys’ claims of protection against heart disease.
What did the hidden data reveal?
(Spoiler: It’s worse than you think!)
Next week, we’ll explore what Keys’ findings mean for your risk of heart disease, uncover the true root causes, and what you can do to protect yourself.
