Saturated fats that up heart disease risk depend on their food source: Study

Heart disease is a major cause of death worldwide — responsible for some 9 million deaths a year. But it is preventable, and health behaviour changes — such as exercising more, quitting smoking and eating healthier — are often recommended. One diet change commonly recommended by experts is to eat fewer saturated fats — and instead consume polyunsaturated fats (typically found in nuts, vegetable oils and fish), which are considered healthier.

But our research suggests that instead of only paying attention to the amount of saturated fat we consume, we should also look at what food sources the saturated fat is coming from.

But foods contain many different types of nutrients. This is why it’s important to investigate which foods containing saturated fats are linked to heart disease, rather than only considering saturated fat alone. Our research drew on data from the University of Cambridge's EPIC-CVD study, which looked at the cardiovascular health of middle-aged people in ten European countries. We found no overall link between the amount of saturated fats participants consumed and their risk of developing heart disease. But this picture was different when we looked at foods that are typical sources of saturated fats.

We found that people who ate more saturated fats from red meat and butter were more likely to develop heart disease. The opposite was true for those who ate more saturated fats from cheese, yoghurt and fish — which were actually linked to a lower risk of heart disease. These findings show that the link between heart disease and saturated fats depends on what food sources it comes from. For example, although cheese and yoghurt contain saturated fats, they also contain nutrients such as vitamin K2 and probiotics. Each of these nutrients may affect heart disease risk through different interrelated pathways — such as by their effects on blood sugar, cholesterol levels or inflammation.

Previous studies have also shown that different saturated fats carry different levels of risk when it comes to heart disease. For instance, palmitic acid (a subtype of saturated fat) is more abundant in red meat compared to cheese and yoghurt. Research shows that it may have a detrimental effect on the levels of cholesterol circulating in our blood — a well known risk factor for heart disease. In contrast, pentadecanoic acid (another sub-type of saturated fat, commonly found in dairy) is generally linked with lower risk of heart disease. —PTI