Research
Mixed
Saturated fat intake increases LDL cholesterol primarily by increasing larger, less atherogenic LDL particles, whereas high-carbohydrate diets increase smaller, dense, pro-atherogenic LDL particles.
Don't just look at your total LDL cholesterol number. If you eat high-carb, your LDL particles might be small and dense (higher risk). If you eat saturated fat, your LDL particles might be larger (lower risk). Particle size is a better marker of risk than total cholesterol.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Dreon et al. demonstrated a correlation between changes in dietary saturated fat and changes in concentration of the larger, more buoyant LDL particles, suggesting that the increases in LDL-C from saturated fat (especially C14:0 and C16:0) were owing to increases in the larger, less atherogenic particles
Why this rating
Supported by cited RCTs (Krauss et al.) and meta-analyses.
Source
The effects of saturated fat intake from dairy on CVD markers: the role of food matrices
Simone Dunne et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2024
DOI 10.1017/s0029665124000132
narrative_reviewCited 7×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Consuming saturated fat from dairy foods (specifically cheese) results in lower total and LDL cholesterol compared to consuming an equivalent amount of saturated fat from butter, due to the protective 'dairy food matrix' (including milk fat globule membrane and protein structure).Good
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