Research
Macro partitioning
Selective substitution of omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) for saturated fat does not provide cardiovascular benefits and may increase mortality, whereas increasing omega-3 PUFAs alongside LA reduces cardiovascular mortality.
If you want to improve heart health by changing fats, focus on increasing Omega-3s (like fish oil or flaxseed) rather than just replacing saturated fats with high-Omega-6 oils like safflower oil. The benefits of 'healthy fats' are driven by Omega-3s, not Omega-6.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
By contrast, pooled analysis of the four randomized controlled trials that increased n-3 PUFAs alongside n-6 LA showed reduced cardiovascular mortality (0.79 (0.63 to 0.99); P=0.04).
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of multiple RCTs, though heterogeneity exists.
Source
Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis
Christopher E. Ramsden et al. · BMJ · 2013
DOI 10.1136/bmj.e8707
Meta-analysis · 7 studiesCited 515×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Replacing saturated fats with omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) from safflower oil increases all-cause, cardiovascular, and coronary heart disease mortality in men with established coronary heart disease.Moderate
- The cardiovascular risk associated with high linoleic acid intake is significantly modified by oxidative stress factors, specifically smoking and alcohol consumption.Moderate
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →