Few topics are as misunderstood as dietary fats. For decades, we were taught to fear fat—especially saturated fat—and to embrace seed oils, grains, and low-fat processed foods. But science, ancestral wisdom, and growing evidence from thought leaders like Dr. Paul Saladino, Dr. Robert Lustig, and professional athlete, Mark Sisson paint a far different picture. The truth? Not all fats are created equal—and many of the fats we’ve been told to eat are causing metabolic dysfunction, obesity, and inflammation.
This blog will explore the different types of fats—Omega-3, Omega-6, Omega-9, saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats—while exposing the dangerous role of seed oils and the linoleic acid they contain. It will also dive into the historical and political decisions that helped create the modern food pyramid and why animal-based nutrition may hold the key to restoring health.
Understanding Dietary Fats: The Basics
1. Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are fully saturated with hydrogen atoms, making them stable and resistant to oxidation and rancidity. They are solid at room temperature and found in animal-based sources such as beef tallow, butter, ghee, and dairy fat.
Benefits:
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Supports hormone production
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Provides long-lasting energy
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Vital for brain health (your brain is ~60% fat)
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Carries fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K)
Contrary to popular belief, saturated fats do not cause heart disease when consumed as part of a whole food, animal-based diet. The demonization of saturated fat began after President Eisenhower’s heart attack in 1955, which led to Ancel Keys’ flawed lipid hypothesis—wrongly blaming saturated fat and cholesterol instead of investigating the real culprit: smoking, chronic stress, and processed carbs.
“We’ve been eating animal foods with saturated fat in them for the entirety of our evolution of humans. This has led us to become the extremely intelligent, large-brained, strong, and adaptable people we are today. Science has also recently begun to support the things we already knew to be true, and studies have shown that high-fat ketogenic diets containing plenty of saturated fat reverse diabetes and insulin resistance. They also lead to weight loss and improvements in inflammatory markers, as well as a reduction in hypertension, dementia, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and a host of other conditions. Animal studies show that saturated fat does not induce leaky gut, but polyunsaturated vegetable oils, like corn oil, do open tight junctions and damage the gut lining.” Dr. Paul Saladino, Carnivore Code
2. Unsaturated Fats These fats are less saturated with hydrogen and more prone to oxidation.
They are broken down into:
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Monounsaturated Fats (MUFA): One double bond (Omega-9)
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Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA): Multiple double bonds (Omega-3 and Omega-6)
Let’s break down each.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: The Anti-Inflammatory Powerhouse
Omega-3s are essential fatty acids that your body cannot produce on its own. There are three main types:
1. Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA)
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Found in chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts
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ALA must be converted into EPA and DHA, but the human conversion rate is poor (5-10%)
2. Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)
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Found in oily fish (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, wild salmon)
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Supports heart health, reduces inflammation, and improves mood
3. Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)
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Found in the same oily fish as EPA
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Critical for brain development, eye health, and cellular function
Best Sources: Wild-caught fish, pastured eggs, grass-fed beef, organ meats
Animal-based diets rich in EPA and DHA offer superior anti-inflammatory benefits compared to plant-based sources of ALA.
Omega-6 Fatty Acids: The Inflammatory Threat
Omega-6 fats, like Omega-3s, are essential—but today’s consumption is way out of balance.
1. Linoleic Acid (LA)
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The primary Omega-6 PUFA found in seed oils: canola, soybean, sunflower, corn, cottonseed
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Highly unstable and prone to oxidation
Problem: Historically, humans consumed Omega-6 and Omega-3 in a 1:1 ratio. Today, due to the dominance of seed oils, the ratio is 20:1 or higher—a recipe for chronic inflammation.
Excess LA intake leads to:
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Oxidative stress
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Insulin resistance
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Obesity
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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
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Cardiovascular damage
Best Practice: Eliminate industrial seed oils. Focus instead on Omega-6s from whole foods like pastured poultry or nuts, in moderation.
Omega-9 Fatty Acids: Non-Essential but Still Beneficial
Omega-9s are monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) and are not essential, meaning your body can produce them. The most common is oleic acid, found in:
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Olive oil
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Avocados
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Lard
Benefits:
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Improves insulin sensitivity
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Supports cardiovascular health
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More stable than PUFAs, less prone to oxidation
Animal fats like pastured pork lard are excellent sources of Omega-9s—providing a better fatty acid profile than seed oils.
Trans Fats: The True Villain
Trans fats are industrially produced through hydrogenation of seed oils to extend shelf life. Found in margarine, baked goods, fast food, and processed snacks.
Health Impact:
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Increase LDL (bad cholesterol)
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Decrease HDL (good cholesterol)
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Raise inflammation
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Increase risk of heart disease
Thankfully, trans fats are now banned or limited in many countries—but their legacy remains.
The Seed Oil Crisis: Why Linoleic Acid is a Metabolic Disaster
Seed oils exploded in popularity after the U.S. government began subsidizing crops like soy, corn, and cotton via the Farm Bill in the 1930s. This wasn’t about health—it was about economic survival post-Great Depression. Grains and oilseeds were cheap, abundant, and easy to market.
Over time, we phased out traditional animal fats (like tallow and lard) and replaced them with cheap, inflammatory seed oils. Food manufacturers loved them. The public, misled by bad science and government policy, ate them up—literally.
Result? A perfect storm of chronic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and degenerative disease.
“Humans survived for 2.5 million years on extremely minimal carbohydrate intake, until we were suddenly bombarded with massive amounts of carbs with the advent of civilization. The flourishing of agriculture paralleled a reduction in average human lifespan, as well as body and brain size, increases in infant mortality and infectious diseases, and the occurrence of previously unknown conditions, such as osteoporosis, bone mineral disorders, and malnutrition. As cultural and medical advancements have eliminated most of the rudimentary health risks faced by early humans, we can now live long enough to develop, suffer, and die from diet related diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. While grains have been presented as healthy staple foods for thousands of years of civilization, our genes are maladapted to ingesting them. They promote wildly excessive insulin production in comparison to a hunter-gatherer diet, leading to difficulty burning stored body fat and serious long-term health problems, including heart disease and diet related cancers. In addition to stimulating excess insulin, grains offer minimal nutritional value in comparison to primal foods. Lectin proteins, particularly gluten, can promote intestinal permeability (leaky-gut) leading to or exacerbating assorted autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Even individuals who are not highly sensitive to gut disturbing properties of grains are much better served nutritionally and healthwise by comprising their diets of delicious primal approved options.” -Mark Sisson, The Primal Blueprint
Metabolic Dysfunction: The Root of Modern Disease
Metabolic dysfunction refers to a cluster of conditions:
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Insulin resistance
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High blood sugar
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Elevated triglycerides
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Abdominal obesity
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Fatty liver
It’s the precursor to:
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Type 2 diabetes
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Heart disease
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Alzheimer's
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Certain cancers
Root causes?
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High intake of processed carbs and seed oils
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Low intake of healthy fats and animal protein
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Sedentary lifestyle
The shift from nutrient-dense animal fats to inflammatory PUFAs has been devastating.
“Insulin, in common parlance, is known as the diabetes hormone. Diabetics inject insulin to lower their blood glucose. But where does the glucose go? To the fat. Insulin’s actual job is to be your energy storage hormone. When you eat something (usually containing some form of carbohydrate), your blood glucose rises, signaling the pancreas to release insulin commensurate with the rise in blood glucose. Insulin then tops off the liver’s energy reserve by making liver starch (called glycogen), and shunts any amino acids from the blood into the muscle cells. Excess fatty acids, or blood lipids, are cleared into fat cells for storage for a “rainy day,” where they get turned into greasy triglycerides. There is no energy storage without insulin - it is the key that unlocks the door to the fat cell to let energy enter and subsequently be stored as fat. Insulin makes fat - the more insulin, the more fat. And there it sits…and sits…as long as there is inulin around. When the insulin levels drop, the process goes in reverse: the triglycerides get broken down, causing the fat cells to shrink - when this happens, that’s weight loss! - and the fatty acids reenter the bloodstream and travel back to the liver, where they are burned by the liver or other organs. In this way, by cycling our insulin up and down, we burn what we need, and store the rest.” Dr. Robert Lustig, Fat Chance
A Brief History: How Fat Got Framed
Eisenhower’s 1955 heart attack shook the nation. It also launched an era of fat-phobia, thanks to Ancel Keys’ Seven Countries Study. Keys cherry-picked data to make it look like saturated fat caused heart disease. But his study excluded sugar and smoking—two major risk factors.
By the 1980s, the USDA Food Pyramid pushed grains and low-fat diets. Healthy animal fats were demonized. Margarine replaced butter. Cereal replaced eggs.
And yet, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes skyrocketed.
The Animal-Based Advantage: Returning to Ancestral Wisdom
Advocates like Dr. Paul Saladino, Mark Sisson, and Dr. Robert Lustig emphasize a return to the foods that fueled human evolution:
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Grass-fed meats
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Organs
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Raw dairy
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Pastured eggs
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Wild fish
These foods are rich in:
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Bioavailable vitamins and minerals
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Stable saturated fats
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Long-chain Omega-3s (EPA & DHA)
Unlike seed oils, animal fats are naturally nutrient-dense, non-toxic, and anti-inflammatory.
Even saturated fats—once blamed for everything from obesity to heart disease—are now being re-evaluated in clinical literature. They raise HDL, improve satiety, and support brain and hormone function.
Realignment: Building a Better Plate
A metabolically healthy diet prioritizes:
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Animal-based saturated and monounsaturated fats
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Whole-food Omega-3s from animal sources
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Minimized Omega-6s, especially linoleic acid from seed oils
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Zero trans fats
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Low glycemic load (avoid processed sugar and excessive starches)
Best fats to use:
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Grass-fed tallow
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Pastured ghee or butter
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Virgin olive oil (uncooked)
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Coconut oil
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Lard from healthy animals
Avoid:
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Canola
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Soybean
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Corn
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Sunflower
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Cottonseed
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Grapeseed
Final Thoughts: Fat is Not the Enemy—But Seed Oils Are
Our bodies evolved over millennia on a diet rich in animal fats, not processed vegetable oils. The rise of chronic illness in modern society correlates not with increased saturated fat, but with the introduction of industrial seed oils and processed carbs.
By understanding the differences between Omega-3, 6, and 9 fats—and choosing stable, nutrient-rich sources—we can reverse metabolic dysfunction, reduce inflammation, and reclaim our health.
It’s time to stop fearing fat and start fearing the real culprits: seed oils, linoleic acid, and decades of misguided nutrition policy.
References & Further Reading:
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Dr. Paul Saladino, The Carnivore Code
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Mark Sisson, The Primal Blueprint
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Dr. Robert Lustig, Metabolical
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Nina Teicholz, The Big Fat Surprise
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Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition or before starting any new fitness or nutritional program.