Reducing saturated fat intake rich foods to 10% of total calories per day can help regulate cholesterol levels and heart disease risk.
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- Fatty acids present in butter, red meat, lard, palm oil increases the risk of heart disease.
- Individual saturated fatty acids share the same food sources and it may not be practical to replace them with the good unsaturated fatty acids.
- Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, vegetable cooking oils, nuts, legumes, fish, and low-fat dairy reduces heart disease risk.
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Previous studies have shown that individual saturated fatty acids have different effects on blood lipids, but little is known about associations between individual saturated fatty acid intake and coronary heart disease risk.
The researchers analyzed data from 73,147 women involved in the Nurses' Health Study between 1984 and 2012, and 42,635 men who were in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study between 1986 and 2010. Participants reported their diet and health status on questionnaires completed every four years.
The study found that a higher intake of the most commonly consumed major saturated fatty acids--lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid--was associated with a 24% increased relative risk of coronary heart disease.
Replacing just 1% of daily consumption of these fatty acids with equivalent calories from polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, whole grain carbohydrates, or plant proteins, was estimated to reduce relative coronary heart disease risk by 4%-8%. Replacing palmitic acid--found in palm oil, meat, and dairy fat--was associated with the strongest risk reduction.
Therefore it is impractical to differentiate the types of saturated fatty acids in making dietary recommendations, an idea that some researchers have put forth. Instead, it is healthier to replace these fatty acids with unsaturated fats from vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and seafood as well as high quality carbohydrates.
Source-Medindia