Macro partitioning
High intake of saturated fat and cholesterol is associated with increased risk of fatal coronary heart disease, but this association is largely explained by low dietary fiber intake rather than the fats themselves.
For heart health, prioritize increasing your intake of dietary fiber from whole plant foods (cereals, vegetables, fruit) over simply cutting fat. While high saturated fat intake was linked to fatal heart disease in this study, the risk was significantly reduced when fiber intake was accounted for, suggesting fiber plays a crucial protective role.
After adjustment for intake of fibre the risks were 0.96 (0.73 to 1.27) and 1.72 (1.01 to 2.90), respectively. Positive associations between intake of cholesterol and risk of coronary heart disease were similarly attenuated after adjustment for fibre intake.
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (n=43,757), long follow-up (6 years), rigorous adjustment for confounders, though observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease in men: cohort follow up study in the United States
Alberto Ascherio et al. · BMJ · 1996
DOI 10.1136/bmj.313.7049.84
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