For generations, dietary advice has been to avoid butter, cheese and steak because they have saturated fats which clog arteries. However, a new study has shown that there has never been clear evidence that these fats cause disease. Unfortunately, cutting way back on saturated fat has caused harmful consequences for women, such as increasing the risk of having a heart attack. Saturated fats are needed for certain critical bodily processes, and for many people, cutting back has resulted in replacement of those calories in the form of carbohydrate. This leads to a surge of higher blood-sugar-related consequences in our population.

In the end, it’s probably fine to eat butter, cheese and steak in moderation. And, it may even be dangerous to rid them from your diet altogether. The caveat to this is new discoveries in genetic and gastrointestinal medicine. Certain people may still have negative consequences from eating a lot of saturated fat or a lot of meat in their diets, depending on their genetic makeup and their microbiome (what types of bacteria are growing in the gut). It’s important to keep in mind, the safest thing to do is have the proper testing done in these areas with your doctor before embarking on a new type of diet. Just remember, moderation.