Research
Hormonal
HDL functionality (cholesterol efflux capacity) and proteomic composition are better predictors of CVD risk than static HDL cholesterol levels, and these functional properties are negatively impacted by SFA-enriched diets compared to MUFA-enriched diets.
Don't just focus on raising your HDL number. Focus on eating healthy fats (like MUFA) rather than excessive saturated fats, as this may improve the *function* of your HDL (how well it clears cholesterol) and reduce inflammation. This is an emerging area of science.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
O’Reilly et al., have further demonstrated that the HDL proteome is remarkably sensitive to dietary fat composition within obesogenic diets in preclinical models. Increased association of pro-inflammatory proteins and reductions in anti-inflammatory proteins on HDL particles was evident in mice fed an SFA-enriched high-fat diet relative to mice consuming a MUFA-enriched high-fat diet
Why this rating
Based on preclinical models (mice) and some human observational data, but not yet standard clinical intervention data.
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
- 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.Good
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