State-of-the-Art for Saturated Fats and Health

A state-of-the-art review for saturated fats and health challenges current guideline recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake. Food sources of SFAs contain different proportions of various fatty acids in addition to other nutrients that can substantially influence their observed physiological and biologic effects. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead some even suggested protective effects with higher consumption of saturated fat against stroke. Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL particles, which are much less strongly related to CVD risk. The amount of risky circulating SFAs in blood is not related to saturated fat intake from the diet but instead tends to track more closely with dietary carbohydrate intake. However, those with stronger genetic pre-disposition to obesity may be more sensitive to dietary SFAs. It is also apparent that the health effects of foods cannot be predicted by their content in any nutrient group without considering the overall macronutrient distribution. Although intake of processed meat has been associated with increased risk of CVD, whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not. The long-standing bias against foods rich in saturated fats should be replaced with a view toward recommending diets consisting of healthy foods. Source: https://www.onlinejacc.org/