Simply replacing good fats, found in sources such as soybean and peanut oil, for bad fats, found in butter and meat, can reduce the risk of heart disease by a fifth, according to new research findings.
Harvard Medical School researchers analyzed data from eight previous studies involving more than 13,000 participants.
Researchers found cutting down on saturated fats alone is one part of a healthy diet, but replacing them with polyunsaturated fat (the good kind) may be just as important. For every 5 percent increase in polyunsaturated fat consumption there was a 10 percent decrease in heart disease, according to researchers.
Adults should get no more than 11 percent of energy from saturated fats, experts recommend, because the fats increase levels of bad cholesterol that block arteries to the heart. Polyunsaturated fats have the opposite effect, increasing levels of good cholesterol.
For nearly six decades, Americans have been advised to reduce consumption of saturated fats to prevent heart disease, but until now, there has been little evidence that doing so actually decreased heart disease risk, according to researchers.
Dariush Mozaffarian, lead researcher of the meta-analysis, warns that in consumers’, snack makers’ and restaurants’ eagerness to rid diets of fat, many have loaded meals with sugar and simple carbohydrates instead, according to National Public Radio.
"It's a bad trade-off for the heart, he said.
“The specific replacement nutrient for saturated fat may be very important. Our findings suggest that polyunsaturated fats would be a preferred replacement for saturated fats for better heart health."
Mozaffarian suggests consumers be defensive grocery shoppers to control their fat intake.
"You can't just look at a product and see that it has low or zero grams of saturated fat, and assume that it's good for you," he said to BBC News. "Whatever they've used to replace that saturated fat matters, too."
Foods high in polyunsaturated fat include a number of vegetable oils, including soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil, as well as fatty fish, nuts and seeds. According to the American Heart Association, both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can benefit health when eaten in moderation, although researchers only looked at polyunsaturated fat in the study.
Sources:
NPR. "Eat More Fat, Just Make Sure It's The Right Kind," http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/03/eat_more_fat_the_right_kind.html; 23 March 2010.
BBC News. "'Good fat' cuts heart risk by a fifth, study shows," http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8580899.stm; 23 March 2010.
Bolo Health. "Substituting good fat for bad reduces heart risk by a fifth," http://www.bolohealth.com/news/2782-substituting-good-fat-for-bad-reduces-heart-risk-by-a-fifth; 23 March 2010.
