Evidence from 72 studies shows that saturated fat does not cause heart disease

This study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine 2014;160(6):398-406-406

Study title and authors:
Association of Dietary, Circulating, and Supplement Fatty Acids With Coronary Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis                                                                    

Rajiv Chowdhury, MD, PhD; Samantha Warnakula, MPhil; Setor Kunutsor, MD, MSt; Francesca Crowe, PhD; Heather A. Ward, PhD; Laura Johnson, PhD; Oscar H. Franco, MD, PhD; Adam S. Butterworth, PhD; Nita G. Forouhi, MRCP, PhD; Simon G. Thompson, FMedSci; Kay-Tee Khaw, FMedSci; Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH; John Danesh, FRCP; and Emanuele Di Angelantonio, MD, PhD

This study can be accessed at: http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1846638

This review led by Dr Rajiv Chowdhury from the University of Cambridge, notes that current "official" dietary guidelines advocate that high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats are recommended to prevent heart disease.

The purpose of this review was to summarise evidence about associations between different fats and coronary heart disease. The review included 72 studies from 18 countries with a total of 659,298 participants.

 

The study found:

(a) Current evidence does not support guidelines which restrict the consumption of saturated fats in order to prevent heart disease.

(b) There is insufficient support for guidelines which advocate the high consumption of polyunsaturated fats (such as omega 3 and omega 6) to reduce the risk of coronary disease.

 

Dr Chowdhury states: "These are interesting results that potentially stimulate new lines of scientific inquiry and encourage careful reappraisal of our current nutritional guidelines".

For more detailed appraisals of the above study please see:
http://www.drbriffa.com/2014/03/21/yet-another-major-review-finds-no-reason-at-all-to-limit-saturated-fat-in-the-diet/

and also:
http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2014/03/19/although-now-dead-the-cholesterolosaurus-will-march-on/