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
Simone Dunne et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2024

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

narrative_reviewCited 7×
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