Saturated fats' link to CVD questioned

For decades, nurses told people to eat less saturated fat to lower their risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. However, increasing evidence – including a new meta-analysis – questions the link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease (CVD). On the other hand, ‘trans-unsaturated fats’ – largely found in processed food – seem to increase heart disease risk.

The new meta-analysis included observational studies examining links between consumption of saturated and trans-unsaturated fats with all-cause mortality, deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) and CVD, total CHD, ischaemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes. For saturated fat, the authors assessed each outcome based on between three and 12 prospective cohort studies encompassing 90,501 to 339,090 participants. Saturated fat consumption was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality, CVD and CHD mortality, total CHD, ischaemic stroke or type 2 diabetes.