Research
Macro partitioning
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats (particularly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) provides the greatest cardiovascular benefit, whereas replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrates does not.
Reduce intake of saturated fats (found in butter, fatty meats, full-fat dairy) and replace them with unsaturated fats (found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish). Do not replace them with refined carbohydrates like white bread or sugar, as this does not improve cardiovascular outcomes.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Reducing saturated fat and replacement with unsaturated fats appears to convey the greatest cardiovascular benefit.
Why this rating
Supported by meta-analyses showing reduced combined cardiovascular events.
Source
Optimum nutritional strategies for cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation (BACPR)
Tom Butler et al. · Heart · 2020
DOI 10.1136/heartjnl-2019-315499
narrative_reviewCited 52×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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