Research

Macro partitioning

Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat reduces cardiovascular disease risk, whereas replacing it with carbohydrate does not.

To lower your heart disease risk, focus on swapping saturated fats (like those in some meats or butter) with polyunsaturated fats (like those in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils). Simply cutting fat without replacing it with healthy fats, or replacing it with refined carbs, will not improve your heart health.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
when saturated fat is replaced with carbohydrate in the diet, heart disease risk does not change; when saturated fat is replaced with polyunsaturated fat in the diet, heart disease risk decreases
David J. Baer et al. · Advances in Nutrition · 2014

Why this rating

Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials cited in the text.

Source

Insights and Perspectives on Dietary Modifications to Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

David J. Baer et al. · Advances in Nutrition · 2014

narrative_reviewCited 2×
Read the paper

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →