Study Questions Dangers of Saturated Fat

Recent headlines proclaimed that saturated fat is no longer “bad.” These were based on a March 2014 study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, which concluded that the evidence does not support our current heart health guidelines that encourage polyunsaturated fats, found in liquid vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, over saturated fats, found in animal fats. The study was based on a pooled analysis of 72 individual studies, which looked at how different fats influence risk of cardiac events. There was no clear difference in heart risk depending on whether people consumed low or high amounts of polyunsaturated or saturated fat.

A number of prominent scientists, such as Harvard’s Nutrition Chair Walter Willet, MD, DrPH, criticized the study, even calling for its retraction. Several major errors in the study have been identified, such as inaccurately identifying a study as showing a negative effect from consuming more polyunsaturated fats, and omitting important studies from the meta-analysis. And the meta-analysis did not account for what people ate when they reduced their saturated fat intake. For example, previous research indicates that if you reduce saturated fats and replace them with refined carbohydrates—sugars, refined grains—you can increase your risk of heart disease. The bottom line: the current guidelines to limit saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories is based on a body of evidence linking these fats to cardiovascular disease risk. More research needs to occur before we can discount this information.

—Sharon Palmer, RD, Editor, EN

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