Research
Macro partitioning
Replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrates increases cardiovascular risk and obesity prevalence, whereas replacing it with unsaturated fats (MUFA/PUFA) improves lipid profiles and reduces risk.
Do not fear dietary fat, but be selective. Replace saturated fats (butter, fatty meats) with unsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts, fish) rather than refined carbohydrates (sugar, white bread). Avoid 'low-fat' products that often contain added sugars.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate, particularly refined carbohydrate, does not confer a benefit. It is important not to conflate replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate rather than unsaturated fat, as some have done. (Alice H. Lichtenstein)
Why this rating
Supported by multiple meta-analyses, prospective observational studies, and expert consensus cited in the text.
Source
Dietary Fat: Friend or Foe?
Cara B. Ebbeling et al. · Clinical Chemistry · 2017
DOI 10.1373/clinchem.2017.274084
narrative_reviewCited 17×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Trans fats are harmful and should be eliminated, while saturated fat's impact depends on the food matrix and what it replaces.Strong
- Low-fat diets that replace fat with refined carbohydrates contribute to the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics, while low-carbohydrate high-fat diets may offer metabolic benefits for weight loss.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
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