Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
..NOW BUTTER ISN’T BAD FOR YOUR HEART
Experts: Saturated fats may not be the cause of cardiovascular disease
EATING butter, fatty meats and cheese may NOT lead to heart disease, research has suggested.
Scientists claim cardiovascular problems in people with high cholesterol levels could actually be caused by low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance and not saturated fats.
They question the benefit of lowering cholesterol by adding polyunsaturated fatty acids to the diet instead of addressing the root cause.
Study co-author Dr Simon Dankel, of the University of Bergen in Norway, said: “There is at best weak evidence that a high intake of saturated fat causes heart disease. The overall data are inconsistent and unconvincing, not to mention the lack of a logical biological and evolutionary explanation.
“Also, people with metabolic disorders often do not show the expected changes in blood cholesterol when changing their fat intake, suggesting loss of the normal response.”
Saturated fats occur naturally in a wide variety of foods, including meat, dairy and breast milk.
A review of studies concluded people need to eat more of the foods high in polyunsaturated fats, such as sunflower oil, walnuts, and fish, to get the same benefits that come from having a smaller amount of saturated fats. The researchers, writing in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, said cholesterol is vital for keeping cells healthy.
Co-author Dr Marit Zincke, of University College in Oslo, added: “Cholesterol is a critically important molecule for all cells in the body. A cell is surrounded by a fluid membrane that controls cell function, and the cells depend on the ability to incorporate a certain amount of cholesterol molecules so that their membranes don’t become too stiff or too fluid.” Fellow researcher Dr Karianne Svendsen, of the University of Oslo, said: “Nutrition research often focuses on what changes in the body, but the question of why something, such as the blood cholesterol, changes, is of equal importance.”