Macro partitioning
Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, whereas replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates does not significantly reduce risk.
If you consume saturated fats (from red meat, butter, cheese), try replacing some of them with unsaturated fats (from nuts, seeds, fish, olive oil). This substitution lowers heart disease risk. However, simply cutting saturated fat and eating more carbohydrates (bread, pasta, sugar) will not lower your heart disease risk.
Comparing one type of fat with another isocalorically, the greatest reduction in risk would be expected from replacing trans or saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat... intake of saturated fat was not associated with higher risk of CHD when compared to the same percentage of energy from carbohydrates... but saturated fat was associated with higher risk if compared to polyunsaturated fat
Why this rating
Supported by large prospective cohort studies (Nurses' Health Study) and pooled analyses showing significant risk reduction with polyunsaturated substitution but not with carbohydrate substitution.
Source
Dietary fats and coronary heart disease
Walter C. Willett · Journal of Internal Medicine · 2012
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2012.02553.x
More from this paper
- Replacing trans fatty acids with unsaturated fats significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, whereas replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates provides little to no benefit.Strong
- High intake of trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils increases the risk of coronary heart disease and should be eliminated.Strong
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