There aren't any contradictions. Just some people are misinformed (i.e. the majority).
Shelley, I and many others follow the Weston Price school of nutritional advice, which basically says that what our ancestors have been eating for thousands of years (and thriving on) is the best indicator of what is healthy and what is not.
Most people still believe that saturated fat is bad. It is not. The majority of fat in arterial plaques is unsaturated! This is scientific fact.