Macro partitioning
Reducing saturated fat intake and replacing it with polyunsaturated fat reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by approximately 17%, whereas replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate or protein yields no clear benefit.
To lower your risk of heart disease, reduce your intake of saturated fats (found in animal fats and some tropical oils) and replace those calories with polyunsaturated fats (found in plant oils, nuts, and seeds). Simply cutting fat without replacing it with healthy unsaturated fats, or replacing it with carbohydrates, does not appear to offer the same cardiovascular protection. Aim for a long-term dietary pattern rather than a short-term diet.
Subgrouping suggested that the reduction in cardiovascular events was seen in studies that primarily replaced saturated fat calories with polyunsaturated fat, and no effects were seen in studies replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate or protein... The findings of this updated review are suggestive of a small but potentially important reduction in cardiovascular risk on reduction of saturated fat intake. Replacing the energy from saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat appears to be a useful strategy, and replacement with carbohydrate appears less useful
Why this rating
Moderate quality evidence (GRADE) from 15 RCTs with ~59,000 participants, though heterogeneity exists (I² 65%).
Source
Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease
Lee Hooper et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2015
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