New Evidence Disputes Fatty Acid Guidelines
Should people avoid saturated fats and increase unsaturated fat consumption in order to lower their risk of heart disease? A review of published data finds no evidence to support the theory.
Led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, the international collaborative study analyzed data from 72 studies comprised of 600,000 participants to measure fatty acid levels in both the participants’ diets and in their bloodstream.
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Results of the study showed that:
- Levels of saturated fat were not associated with the development of coronary heart disease.
- There was no evidence that levels of long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids, whether consumed through supplementation or in food, were associated with lower cardiovascular risk.
They did note, however, that specific fatty acids had different effects on CV risk from one another.
“Current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats,” researchers concluded.
–Michael Potts
Reference
Chowdhury R, Warnakula S, Kunutsor S, Crowe F, et al. Association of Dietary, Circulating, and Supplement Fatty Acids With Coronary Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2014;160(6):398-406-406. doi:10.7326/M13-1788