Saturated Fats and Health: A Reassessment and Proposal for Food-Based Recommendations: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

Authors

Arne Astrup
Faidon Magkos
Dennis M Bier
J Thomas Brenna
Marcia C de Oliveira Otto
James O Hill
Janet C King
Andrew Mente
Jose M Ordovas
Jeff S Volek
Salim Yusuf
Ronald M Krauss

Publication Date

8-18-2020

Journal

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

DOI

10.1016/j.jacc.2020.05.077

PMID

32562735

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Cardiovascular Diseases, Dietary Fats, Fatty Acids, Humans, Recommended Dietary Allowances, Risk Assessment, Stroke, cardiovascular disease, diet, food matrix, saturated fat.

Abstract

The recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake has persisted despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead found protective effects against stroke. Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL particles, which are much less strongly related to CVD risk. It is also apparent that the health effects of foods cannot be predicted by their content in any nutrient group without considering the overall macronutrient distribution. Whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not associated with increased risk of CVD. The totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods.