According to previous studies, consuming too much saturated fat commonly found in dairy, fried food and red meat is linked to heart disease. Some studies say, however, that cutting back on these consumptions doesn't contribute to lowering heart risks.
While some people are confused about the recommended dietary fat intake, a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology explains how to reduce fat intake to effectively decrease the development of heart problems.
For the study, a group of scientists led by Dr. Frank Hu from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health looked at the data of 84,628 women in Nurses' Health Study and 42,908 men in Health Professionals Follow Up Study who were followed for nearly 30 years. The data acquired from the 1980's to 2010 contained detailed information on the participants' dietary consumption and heart conditions.
Results show that people who ate more saturated fat had higher risks for heart disease than those who ate less, while those who ate healthier fats called polyunsaturated fats (found in vegetable oil) and more whole grain carbohydrates had lower risks for heart disease compared to those who consumed less of these nutrients.
Although some participants replaced 5% saturated fat with carbohydrates on their diets, researchers found out that those who consumed refined carbohydrates found in starches, pastas and other food made from refined flour are likely to develop heart problems as well.
Agreeing to what previous studies concluded, replacing saturated fats with equally unhealthy carbohydrates, which are easily transferred into fat, could lead to the same danger.
"The risk doesn't increase, but it also doesn't decrease, so you're not doing yourself any favors," the study's co-lead author Adela Hruby, a research fellow in the department of nutrition told TIME Magazine.
Meanwhile, those who replaced 5% of their saturated fat intake with healthier fats found in olive oil and vegetable oil and whole grain carbohydrates reduced their risks for heart disease by 9% to 25%.
"We know that people don't just drop 10% of their calories from whatever and not replace them with other things," Hruby added. "What they are adding in to replace what they're not eating is really important. What this study shows is that nutrient replacement matters."
