Saturated fat
Fatty AcidA type of fat concentrated in meat, dairy, and desserts that suppresses AMPK, promotes inflammation, and is considered an accelerator of the aging process.
Food Sources
Foods that contain Saturated fat.
Biological Mechanisms
How Saturated fat works at a cellular level.
- PromotesAMPK suppression
- PromotesPromotes inflammation
The single most pro-inflammatory food component per the Dietary Inflammatory Index. After one meal high in saturated fat, IL-6 levels can double within six hours. | Single most pro-inflammatory component of the Dietary Inflammatory Index
- PromotesEndotoxemia
Saturated fat disrupts gut barrier function and ferries endotoxins into the bloodstream.
- PromotesDisrupts Blood-Brain Barrier
Saturated fat causes 30x increase in blood-brain barrier dysfunction in mice; a single high-saturated-fat meal impairs cognition within 5 hours
- SupportsSaturated fat is toxic to insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas
Saturated fats are toxic to insulin-producing beta cells. Exposing beta cells to saturated fat or LDL cholesterol causes them to die.
- SupportsIntramyocellular fat accumulation
Fat in the bloodstream builds up inside muscle cells, creating toxic breakdown products and free radicals that block insulin signaling.
- PromotesIncreases insulin resistance
Palmitate, the saturated fat found mostly in meat, dairy, and eggs, causes insulin resistance. Fat inside muscle cells creates toxic breakdown products that block insulin signaling.
- PromotesIncreases intestinal permeability
A high fat diet alters the activity of intestinal IgA+ immune cells. IgA controls intestinal and adipose tissue inflammation, intestinal permeability, microbial invasion, and composition of the gut microbiome
- InhibitsAMPK activation
Saturated fat can suppress AMPK
- InhibitsAutophagy
Anything that suppresses AMPK activation, like saturated fat intake, may also suppress autophagy
Sources
- How Not to Age
- The Longevity Diet
- How Not to Die
- Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity