Not news to you, perhaps, but saturated fat was never the problem with our diets! Many meta-analyses, op-ed’s and even popular books have detailed the misguided steps we took in 1977 when our federal nutritional guidelines steered us away from fat and towards (unthinkably) carbohydrates to make up the lost calories from trimmed fat. Just this week, a group of researchers led by Zoe Harcombe published a commentary in the prestigious British Medical Journal in which they review the data and conclude that the 1977 guidelines were unfounded at the time and that our vast nutritional experiment was poorly conceived and of course has been a public health disaster. 

The emperor is not now and has not ever been wearing any clothes, and we have suffered for someone perceiving a royal cloak. 

Remarkably, a response in the same journal, cites the work of Ancel Keys in opposition to Harcombe, et al. Although not completely without merit, Keys work has been widely discredited primarily for “cherry picking” the data (leaving high fat eating, long life populations out of his study) but also for his legendary bullying of his opponents. Contemporary scientists in the 1970’s were ridiculed for proposing that carbohydrates, and not fats, might be the problem. For both a highly educational and thoroughly entertaining read describing the era, I refer you to The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz, or the summary of her work in Time Magazine.

But let’s remember that it is February (Heart Month) and almost Valentine’s Day and move beyond the controversy. 

Now that we can enjoy butter, coconut, and cream, how might they go with the other foods we know to be very healthy for our hearts? I think first of dark chocolate, real cacao or 70% or higher chocolate content, and then of nuts: I like cashews and macadamias on their own, but given that we’re thinking of chocolate, maybe almonds and walnuts are best. The only question is:

How would I prefer to best nourish my heart and that of my loved ones on Valentine’s Day? Dark chocolate truffles or chocolate ganache cake made with butter, chocolate, almond and coconut flours. That is the only remaining dilemma.