It appears that the consensus is that saturated fat significantly increases blood cholesterol and arterial plaque formation
Nope -- that's a hotly debated topic. There used to be a consensus that saturated fat is bad, but AFAIK it doesn't exist any more.
In particular, the low-carb and paleo approaches to nutrition strongly assert that saturated fat is NOT bad -- that's why "Bulletproof stuff" involves a lot of it.
Thanks. How does one go about learning more about this, preferably while encountering minimal bullshit on the way?
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
Notes for future OT posters:
1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.
2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)
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4. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.