Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature because their fatty acids have no double bonds which means they are able to be packed densely. Saturated fats are found in foods such as butter, cured meats, sausages and coconut milk. Consuming higher amounts of saturated fats contributes to elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.(1) Reductions in saturated fat, and replacing it with carbohydrates or polyunsaturated fats(PUFA), has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by 17%. (2) There is also insufficient evidence that reducing saturated fat intakes has harmful effects.(2) However, There does not seem to be a causal effect as in saying saturated fats cause cardiovascular disease, instead an increase intake of saturated fats, also increases the risks of cardiovascular disease. To limit saturated fats from meats choose lower-fat and lean options of dairy, meat and poultry. Some examples of dietary shifts can also include cooking with olive/avocado oil instead of butter or margarine and consume grilled chicken instead of fried. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting saturated fats to 10% or less of your daily calories.(3)
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I’m comfortable with the modern studies and meta-analysis showing saturated fat has a negligible role in cardiovascular disease. Most were based on food surveys and associations not any hard empirical evidence.
Have been eating at least 50% of my calories from saturated fat for over 5 years now and won’t be stopping any time soon as it has improved my health immensely.
A major form of consumption of saturated fat would be while eating out at restaurants, especially with fast food places. These establishments tend to fry a lot of their food, many of them now using canola oil. Although there are better healthier oils, this is a low saturated fat oil that is good for frying. This is one of the small changes that could have a big effect on the health of consumers. There was a study done where restaurant chains modified their menu items to reduce the amount of calories, saturated fats, and sodium in their food (1). They had customers rate the dishes and found that a majority of the customers liked the new recipes. This demonstrates that changes could be made to heavily consumed food to make it healthier without reducing sales and intake. The rates of fast food consumption and obesity and cardiovascular disease are all high and can be associated with one another. The reduction in saturated fats in the recipes of fast food chains could be beneficial strategy to improving the dietary intake of fast food consumers.
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(1) Patel, Anjali A et al. “Reducing calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium in restaurant menu items: Effects on consumer acceptance.” Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) vol. 24,12 (2016): 2497-2508. doi:10.1002/oby.21684