Research
Macro partitioning
High intake of trans-fatty acids significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiac arrest, independent of saturated fat intake, by raising LDL-C, lowering HDL-C, and promoting insulin resistance.
Avoid foods with 'partially hydrogenated oils' on the ingredient list. These trans-fats are twice as harmful to your cholesterol levels as saturated fats. Replace them with natural oils like olive or canola oil.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
In numerous controlled metabolic studies, trans-fatty acids... have been shown to raise LDL-C levels and lower HDL-C relative to cis-unsaturated fatty acids... The increase in the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol for trans-fat is approximately twice that for saturated fat.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple prospective cohort studies, metabolic studies, and case-control studies.
Source
Optimal Diets for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease
Frank B. Hu · JAMA · 2002
DOI 10.1001/jama.288.20.2569
narrative_reviewCited 1,509×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Substituting nonhydrogenated unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) for saturated and trans-fats significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, whereas simply lowering total fat percentage without regard to fat quality does not improve lipid profiles or reduce CHD incidence.Strong
- A dietary pattern high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, and low in refined grains, significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease.Strong
- Consuming 2 or more servings of fish per week, or supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA or ALA), significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, particularly sudden cardiac death and fatal CHD.Good
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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