Saying no to saturated fats may not be the answer

(Branislav Senic)

A new study published in the March edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal, found that there is no link between saturated fat and increased risk in heart disease and strokes.

The joint study from Harvard University and Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute showed that "age, sex, and study quality did not change the results" after reviewing the relative risk and saturated fat intake of 347,747 subjects across 21 studies. The researchers accessed the role of dietary saturated fats in 11,006 of the subjects who had developed cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease by re-analyzing past studies' data and risk pooling to determine the relationship of fats and heart diseases.

Saturated fats include whole milk, cream, ice cream, whole-milk cheeses, butter, lard, meats, palm, palm kernel, coconut oils and cocoa butter.

Full study, 'Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease' : http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/91/3/535