Canadian researchers found that the consumption of trans fats does correlate to heart problems, but found no clear link between saturated fats and risk of heart disease. While not directly discounting the dangers of saturated fats, they do recommend cutting out trans fats from diets. The Chicago Tribune reports:
"Not all the studies we looked at reached the same conclusion, but generally what we found is that the association between a higher consumption of trans fats and a higher risk for heart disease and (early) death was very consistent," said study author Russell de Souza.
"And because we found no evidence that trans fat offers any health benefit, removing it from the foods we eat is the right idea," added de Souza, a registered dietitian and an assistant professor of clinical epidemiology & biostatistics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
"On the other hand, the association between consuming saturated fat and a higher risk for similar health issues was variable and unclear," he added. "But we want to be careful. We're not saying that we're confident that saturated fat is truly benign."
USA Today writes:
A report published Tuesday concludes that people who cut out saturated fat don’t necessarily lower their heart disease risk.
That's not because butter is healthy.
It's just that people who reduce their intake of fat usually end up eating more sugar, white flour and empty calories, said co-author Russell de Souza, an assistant professor and registered dietitian at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. His review, which examined 73 earlier studies, was published in the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.
Reducing saturated fat does reduce the risk of heart attacks, however, if people replace their milk shakes and cheese burgers with healthier foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, or with polyunsaturated fats, which are found in olive oil, sunflower seeds and other foods, the analysis found.
“It’s not really meaningful to say that saturated fats are good or bad,” said Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, who wasn’t involved in the new study. “If you replace saturated fat with cookies, white bread and bagels, it’s not going to do you any good. It’s important to talk about the trade-offs.”
