What Most People Don’t Understand About Fat, Inflammation, and the Illusion of “Safe”
Let’s talk about what’s happening right now in nutrition culture. Over the last few years, certain diets have skyrocketed into popularity. Keto, carnivore, bulletproof coffee, and even bacon-based "biohacks". They all have one thing in common: they center around saturated fat. You'll hear influencers praise grass-fed butter, tallow, and coconut oil like they are superfoods. Doctor's will even say these fats are "stable", "clean", or "anti-inflammatory." Because you feel better—for a while. Maybe your bloat goes down. Maybe your bloodwork looks “clean.”
What if abscence of symptoms isn't the same as healing? So, does making the switch in fats mean you’re actually healing or did the symptoms just get quieter while the dysfunction went deeper?
Here’s what most people aren't telling you: stability is not the same as healing. And just because your body isn’t reacting doesn’t mean it’s recovering.
That’s the illusion of the saturated fat trend. It cuts off the smoke, so you stop noticing the fire. But the fire never left—it just moved deeper, spreading through the forest where you can’t see it.
Quick Fat Primer: What’s the Difference?
Not sure what the terms saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated actually mean? You're not alone.
- Saturated fat: All the carbon atoms in this fat chain are “saturated” with hydrogen. That means the chain is fully stable and straight. These fats are solid at room temperature (think butter, lard, coconut oil).
- Monounsaturated fat (MUFA): These fats have one double bond in the chain—so they’re slightly more flexible. They’re usually liquid at room temp (like olive oil or avocado oil).
- Polyunsaturated fat (PUFA): These have two or more double bonds, which makes them even more flexible and helpful for signaling and repair. Examples include sunflower oil, walnut oil, and the omega-3s in fish.
Each fat plays a different role in the body. The debate isn’t about whether they exist—but how they're used, combined, and understood.
Now that we’re clear on that, let’s get into what’s going wrong with the “saturated fat is safer” trend…
Let’s Just Call This Out
From podcast gurus and paleo doctors to wellness blogs and nutrition bestsellers, the 'butter is better' movement is no longer niche. It's mainstream. Doctors—especially certain cardiologists—are out here recommending coconut oil, organic beef tallow, ghee, grass-fed butter. They say, "Saturated fats are more stable. Less inflammatory."
Then, from the same mouth, they say: “Avoid seed oils. Avoid processed food. Use olive oil for heart health.” “Avoid cheese… but eat grass-fed butter.”
Wait. What?
You're telling people to avoid processed food, but recommend butter. To avoid dairy, but eat ghee. To avoid inflammatory oils, but eat a slab of coconut fat. And then somehow, olive oil sneaks back in because it fits a Mediterranean model.
Does this make any sense to you?
I mean seriously— Isn’t cow’s milk, the base used to make grass-fed butter, the same milk used to make cheese? So… don’t they both contain the same kinds of unhealthy fats?
But somehow, because it's “grass-fed,” we're supposed to ignore the fact that it's still loaded with saturated fat. Because a small portion of that fat contains a omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for the brain and anti-inflammatory. Remember, omega-3's are PUFA's.
And don’t forget—the same experts who demonize polyunsaturated fats still tell you to use olive oil. Why? Because it’s “heart healthy.”
They’ll claim it’s fine because it’s mostly monounsaturated—but they won’t mention that it's still operating like a PUFA, and it still contains a double bond.
Mono or poly doesn’t change the fact: those bonds serve the same purpose: they regulate flexibility, signaling, and cell repair. Fewer bonds doesn’t mean “safer.” It just means different placement on the chain. That’s chemistry, not safety.
The truth? Most doctors don’t even know why that matters anymore. And it shows because they’re recommending fully saturated carbon chains and calling it healing.
That’s like slathering poison ivy on your skin because the leaves have chlorophyll.
Sure, there might be something “beneficial” in there... But that doesn't make it a good idea.
(please...don't actually rub poison ivy on your arm, it's a joke)
The Confusion Isn’t Accidental
The entire conversation around fats is flooded with contradictions.
- “Avoid polyunsaturated fats.”
- “Eat omega-3s.”
- “Avoid seed oils.”
- “Eat olive oil.”
You can’t just chop the story in half and expect it to be true. People are getting hurt by this kind of thinking.
The argument that PUFAs cause inflammation is built on a misunderstanding of biology. Yes, they can become pro-inflammatory. But they can also be anti-inflammatory.
Prostaglandins aren’t the problem. (FYI-Prostaglandins are hormone-like molecules that signal whether something is creating inflammation or reducing inflammation)
Aiming our target at prostaglandins is like saying fire alarms are bad because they make too much noise.
The question is, what is turning them on?
And no, the answer isn’t to cut out most oils that have a double bond and replace them with fully saturated stable fats instead.
To continue the analogy, that's like turning down the volume of the fire alarm so we don't have to hear the signals while the house burns down.
That's exactly what's going on though.
Here’s the Real Problem
Here's what I think roots even deeper than the controversy between unsaturated and saturated fats. The fact that we’ve elevated the title “doctor” so high that we stopped asking basic questions. We stopped using common sense. And quite frankly, this kind of ignorance is costing people their lives—or at least their quality of life.
Real Talk: This Hit Home for Me
I have to give credit here to my mom. She’s the one who planted the seed in me to question authority—not blindly, but boldly. She was a registered nurse who never let a title override her intuition.
If something didn’t sit right—like a doctor prescribing something that felt dangerous—she spoke up. And if the doctor didn’t like it? She’d lean in.
I remember her asking one of them, “What’s your name?” “Doctor So-and-so,” he replied. She raised an eyebrow. “Your mom named you Doctor?”
He didn’t like it. But she wasn’t being disrespectful. She just didn’t believe that a title made you more entitled to be right. And to put it bluntly... she wasn’t wrong.
Because sometimes, the more schooling someone has, the more deeply programmed they are to repeat what they were taught—without ever questioning it.
What You’ve Been Told Is Not the Whole Truth
There are ways to support your body. But it doesn’t involve demonizing PUFAs. It doesn’t involve worshiping saturated fat. And it definitely doesn’t involve chasing whatever trend makes you feel a little better in the short term.
If you’re ready to start questioning what you’ve been handed, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re finally on the right track.
And when you're ready for the truth about healing—cell deep, bile moving, brain firing, hormone-regulating truth—that’s what the BNT Level Program was built for.
What Happens Next Is Real Healing
So let’s change that.
To start, you work with me in an Initial Session. We don’t just talk about your diagnosis, we talk about your experience. Because your body is always telling the truth. And the goal isn’t to shut it up, it’s to understand what it’s saying.
Sometimes, that shows up as obvious symptoms like:
- IBS or digestive discomfort
- Autoimmune flares or unexplained rashes
- Hormonal chaos—PMS, anxiety, night sweats, irregular cycles
- Bloating, brain fog, or water retention that won’t go away
And sometimes, the symptoms are the kind of things you were told were just a “normal part of life”:
- Fatigue? Drink more coffee.
- Weight gain? Just hit the gym.
- Hair loss? Must be aging.
But none of those are normal. They’re signals. And the problem isn’t that you didn’t try hard enough. The problem is you were handed fringe treatments that managed symptoms instead of supporting the system.
That’s what I do.
I help you understand the biology beneath the symptom. And we build a rhythm that doesn’t just look good on paper. It actually supports the body you live in.
After the Initial Session, you begin your BNT Level journey with me. We focus on real healing, not just management. And if you want deeper support—like ongoing guidance, extra resources, more recipes tailored to your protocol, and help navigating each phase—that’s exactly why I created my BNT subscription membership.
I’m here for you. Every step of the way.
