Apparently even cows, who eat grass, synthesize fats in their rumen. I could be wrong. Looking for some clarity on this subject. Thanks!
In: Biology
Fat is used for long term storage of energy while carbohydrates is the primary source of energy in all animals. Excess carbohydrates is converted into fat and when the carbohydrate levels are low fat is converted back into carbohydrates so it can be used. The problem is that carbohydrates is very hard for animals to store.
Most of the original dietary guidelines came about from the work of one politically connected scientist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys
He authored some research indicating that dietary saturated fat was responsible for a number of diseases, and suggested a low fat diet to counter that.
There’s a pretty hard limit on how many calories per day a human can get from protein, so the rest must come from either fats or carbohydrates. So this led to suggesting a substantial increase in the number of carbohydrates that were consumed.
Modern research has been politicized to a point where it’s hard to have a polite discussion about the findings.
I think you’ve misunderstood something because most animals use carbs as their primary source of energy. Livestock is fed mostly grass and grains which are carbs. Fats are good sources of energy but they’ve become so abundant in modern society that they’re discouraged because it’s easy to exceed your energy needs and excess fat in your circulation is what leads to heart disease. Humans need more carbs than most because of our big brains take a ton of energy to run and it primarily uses carbs as an energy source
A balanced diet is best. Protein gives energy for a longer time, fat (consumed) is easily burned, and carbs are somewhere in the middle.
Because carbohydrates break down into simple sugars and then those simple sugars become fat if not used while still in the blood stream. Fat does need replenishing because this doesn’t happen to all the sugars you consume. It’s all about slow release and fast release energy.
I could be very wrong on this but i thought it was carbs that were stored in our bodies for a long time and not fats hence keto
It’s not always the way. Feel free to check out way of life eating such as Keto and carnivore and you’ll find people who live off fats and proteins all day long. A lot of doctors and people grow up knowing the food pyramid/standard American diet and think that carbs are the only way of existing, so that’s why it’s so prolific.
What they don’t tell you is that it’s super easy to overeat your daily amount of calories with carbohydrate-filled food which can be so addictive, sweet and unfulfilling.
Because there are different kinds of fat. Trans fat is one kind, though I’ve forgotten the others since it’s been 3 years since I’ve last even thought about this haha.
So just like how Diesel is bad for gas cars, though they are both fuel, some fats are better or worse for people. Some fats help store energy, while others can cause cholesterol intake problems and heart disease in the long term.
Like, think of your arteries as a garden hose. If there is no mud in the hose, it will flow better, but over time of mud collects inside then the flow will slowly get worse and worse until no water at all can flow through, Cholesterol is that mud and the water is your blood. That’s when a heart attack occurs because the deoxygenated blood cells cannot get reoxygenated by the heart.
I hope this makes since. This is my first time on ELI5 so I honestly don’t know if this I’d a good format.
>when nearly all animals use fat as their primary source of fuel
If we’re talking about herbivores, this is mistaken. They eat cellulose(as opposed to glucose). The ‘lose part of those words is no mistake, the stuff ruminants can break down are polysaccharides, poly meaning many. Monosaccharide and disaccharide are the single and double chains respectively that our gut bateria can break down. We can’t tackle many chains.
And those are all carbs. If you’re talking about dietary guidelines in terms of health from the main sources of kcal(carb, fat, and protein) then there is no way to gain accurate data on any of it. Don’t listen to anyone that says they know with any certainty. They’re lying. You can’t force large groups of people to eat only one thing, for years, to gain that kind of data. Its a moral infraction
Most people aren’t doing anything wrong at all, macro wise. They’re confusing unhealthy food with unhealthy practise though.
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