Eating the Right Kind of Fats

Despite the wide belief that saturated fat intake is associated with the risk of coronary heart disease, authors from a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed data from 72 unique studies with over 600,000 participants from 18 nations and concluded: “current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats [1].” Other recent studies have similarly created doubt in the link between dietary saturated fat and heart disease. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which evaluated this association, does not support the notion that saturated fats increase the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease [2]. Another study published in the same journal found that the replacement of saturated fats with high glycemic index carbohydrates significantly increases the risk of heart attacks [3]. These recent findings suggest that the dietary intake of butter and animal fats is not as bad as previously believed.