The Truth About Fats: How the Food Industry Manipulated Your Diet and Your Health
By: JakeGTV
For decades, we’ve been told that fat is the enemy. Low-fat labels are plastered on everything from snack bars to cookies, and “fat-free” versions of foods like Oreos were marketed as healthier options. But what if I told you that this anti-fat narrative was engineered to benefit food conglomerates, pushing cheap, inflammatory oils into your diet and paving the way for processed, artificial foods? This slippery slope hasn’t just altered the way we eat; it has left lasting impacts on our health and our ability to make real dietary choices.
The truth is, animal fats like those found in fatty fish, raw milk, and grass-fed meat are critical for brain function, hormone production, and even environmental sustainability. Instead, we’ve been sold a myth that polyunsaturated fats from seed oils, such as canola and soybean oil, are somehow superior. These oils are cheap to produce, easy to scale, and highly profitable—but at a grave cost to human health. Here’s how we’ve been manipulated by decades of selective research funding, misleading marketing, and ideologies that push us further from the natural nutrition our bodies need.
The Push for Low-Fat and Fat-Free: A Corporate Agenda
In the 1960s, food companies needed a scapegoat to divert attention from the growing evidence linking sugar to heart disease. The sugar industry funded studies to blame saturated fat for cardiovascular disease, which successfully shifted public perception and government policy. It was the perfect cover: by pointing the finger at dietary fat, the sugar industry could continue to profit from sugary, processed foods that were rebranded as “healthy” due to their low-fat content (1). This shift paved the way for the adoption of polyunsaturated fats—mainly in the form of seed oils—as alternatives, which were hailed as healthier and more heart-friendly.
The idea of low-fat and fat-free foods became a marketing goldmine. Food companies could load products with sugar and additives, label them as low-fat, and consumers would see them as health-conscious choices. Snack foods, cookies, and cereals were stripped of their natural fats and pumped with sugar, starches, and seed oils to maintain taste and texture (2). This set the stage for a cascade of health issues, as these highly processed foods encouraged insulin resistance, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction. Worse, it convinced a generation that fat was something to be feared, laying the groundwork for the misguided trend of veganism based on processed, lab-created substitutes rather than natural, nutrient-rich foods.
The Inflammatory Impact of Seed Oils
Seed oils, or polyunsaturated fats, are derived from crops like soybeans, corn, and canola, often using chemical solvents and high heat, which can damage the oil and make it more prone to oxidation. When oxidized, these oils release free radicals—unstable molecules that cause inflammation and cellular damage. Numerous studies now link high consumption of polyunsaturated fats to chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and even mental health disorders like depression and anxiety (3). But here’s the kicker: the food industry has funded much of the research promoting seed oils, ignoring the growing body of evidence about their harmful effects.
Our ancestors thrived on diets rich in animal fats from sources like wild game, fish, and dairy. These fats provide essential nutrients, including vitamins A, D, and K, and omega-3 fatty acids like DHA, which support brain health and cognitive function. For instance, DHA—a long-chain omega-3 fat found in fatty fish—plays a crucial role in brain development and mental health. Studies show that children with higher DHA levels tend to have better cognitive outcomes, while low DHA is linked to cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases (4). However, the food industry downplays these benefits to keep consumers buying cheap, profitable oils that are easy to mass-produce (5).
Veganism and the Corporate Takeover of Diet
The popularity of veganism has exploded, driven by concerns about health, ethics, and sustainability. But in many cases, vegan diets rely on highly processed foods packed with soy, seed oils, and artificial ingredients. These foods are often touted as sustainable alternatives, yet they come with their own environmental and health costs. Monoculture farming for soy and corn—the primary sources of seed oils—leads to deforestation, soil degradation, and loss of biodiversity (6). Moreover, vegan alternatives like plant-based burgers and cheese substitutes are often filled with inflammatory ingredients that are far removed from whole foods.
Corporate interests have hijacked veganism, promoting heavily processed foods that are easy to control, patent, and market to a global population. Companies capitalize on vegan labels, attracting consumers who believe they’re making healthier, ethical choices, while pocketing profits from products that contribute to environmental destruction and chronic health problems. Ironically, the same pharmaceutical companies that benefit from the sale of cholesterol and blood pressure medications are often invested in the food companies pushing these processed, plant-based products. It’s a cycle where food makes us sick, and then drugs are sold as the solution—rather than addressing the root cause of dietary imbalance (7).
The Funding Behind Anti-Fat Narratives
The food and pharmaceutical industries share a vested interest in maintaining the anti-fat narrative. By vilifying saturated fats and promoting seed oils, they can keep consumers dependent on processed foods that are profitable to produce. These industries also fund studies that downplay the connection between diet and chronic disease, allowing pharmaceutical companies to capitalize on lifestyle-related illnesses like hypertension and diabetes. Blood pressure medications, statins, and insulin are highly profitable, and the idea that these conditions are diet-related—and preventable—threatens the very foundation of this business model (8).
Recent research has debunked the myths around saturated fats, showing that high-quality animal fats can support cognitive health, regulate hormones, and reduce inflammation. For instance, studies from UCLA have found that consuming fatty fish and other animal-based fats helps to preserve brain volume and function, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases (9). Yet, these findings are often overshadowed by studies funded by industry groups with a stake in keeping consumers reliant on processed, plant-based fats. This selective funding manipulates public perception, steering people away from real food and into the arms of multinational corporations that control every aspect of the food chain—from the seeds planted to the drugs prescribed (10).
A Call to Reclaim Your Diet
To break free from this manipulation, we need to look beyond the labels and marketing claims and return to a diet rooted in natural, nutrient-dense foods. This means incorporating whole, animal-based fats like those from grass-fed beef, raw dairy, and wild-caught fish—foods that have sustained humanity for centuries. It also means questioning the motives behind the promotion of seed oils and plant-based processed foods, understanding that these products serve corporate interests far more than they serve our health.
The real villain in our food system isn’t animal fat; it’s the artificial narrative constructed by companies that profit from keeping us in the dark about what truly nourishes us. By reclaiming a balanced, whole-food diet and embracing natural fats, we can take control of our health, avoid the traps of processed foods, and ensure that our dietary choices align with the biological needs of our bodies, not the bottom line of multinational corporations.
References
1. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, “Researchers Challenge Claims That Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
2. Psychology Today, “The Brain Needs Animal Fat,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
3. SpringerLink, “Diet, Brain Lipids, and Brain Functions: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
4. UCLA Health, “Diet Rich in Fatty Fish Good for Cognitive Function,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
5. Scienceline, “Why is Salmon Good for Your Brain?” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
6. Psychology Today, “The Brain Needs Animal Fat,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
7. The Independent, “Cobalt mining for Big Tech is driving child labor, deaths in the Congo,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
8. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “Are These Tech Companies Complicit In Human Rights Abuses Of Child Cobalt Miners In Congo?” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
9. Human Rights Watch, “Child Labor and Human Rights Violations in the Mining Industry of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
10. MDPI, “Type 3 Diabetes and Its Role Implications in Alzheimer’s Disease,” accessed October 13, 2024. Link
