Peat Archive

Ray Peat was a vocal advocate for saturated fats, arguing that they are not only safe but essential for health. He distinguished sharply between saturated fats (which are stable, resistant to oxidation, and support thyroid function) and polyunsaturated fats (which are unstable, pro-inflammatory, and suppress thyroid). Peat recommended coconut oil as the ideal cooking fat due to its medium-chain fatty acids, and also endorsed butter, tallow, and chocolate (cocoa butter).

Peat pointed out that the lipid hypothesis — the idea that saturated fat causes heart disease — was never well-supported and has been progressively undermined by research. He noted that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated oils in institutional diets consistently failed to reduce mortality and often increased cancer rates.