I agree with you that a high intake of sat fat is a still considered, by the majority of medical/nutrition experts, a CVD risk. However, below you basically contradict yourself:
Ambrown9 wrote:
first of all, health is multifactorial and a single dietary factor can't alone account for rampant CHD in our population; second of all, if there was a single dietary culprit, it would be the sky-high glycemic index of the foods we eat). .
You said "health is multifactorial and a single dietary factor can't alone account for rampant CHD in our population". But then....You try and account for rampant CHD with..."a single dietary factor," the "sky high" (??) GI of the foods we eat. Soda, a big culprit in obesity, and then down the line CHD, is full of fructose. Fructose has a very low GI. So....... And many desserts and fast food are foods/meals that combine tons of sat fat and sugar (a lot of fructose), The overall effect is not a particularly high GI (the whole meal).
We do eat too much sugar. But the "sky high GI" of foods we eat as a culprit for the obesity/T2D epidemic is actually more overblown than sat fat as a culprit. Of course, the REAL culprit is: too many calories, too many junk calories (fast food, dessert, snacks), too few fruits and vegetables, and too many sedentary lives. (also: you do realize that the "rampant CHD" you mention is not really true despite high levels of obesity, at least as far as mortality. Age adjusted CHD deaths are way down compared to the 70's in the USA, and many other countries, despite the excess calories and sedentary lifestyles. This is mainly due to the large use of statins, better medical treatment for heart disease, and a moderate decrease in sat fat consumptions in some populations)