Giving up butter is not such a healthy move
Swapping butter for “healthier” vegetable oils does not prevent heart disease or help people to live longer, a 43-year study has concluded. A team of US researchers found that, although switching to fats such as sunflower oil does lower cholesterol, the result does not translate into long-term health benefits or improved survival. In fact, people with the greatest reduction in blood cholesterol appeared to have a higher risk of death.
IT IS news worthy of an extra slice of toast. Swapping butter for “healthier” vegetable oils does not prevent heart disease or help people to live longer, a 43-year study has concluded.
For decades health bodies, including the NHS, have warned against consuming excess saturated fats, claiming they damage the heart. But the new study suggests it makes little difference.
A team of US researchers found that, although switching to fats such as sunflower oil does lower cholesterol, that result does not translate into long-term health benefits or improved survival.
In fact, people with the greatest reduction in blood cholesterol appeared to have a higher risk of death.
It is one of several recent studies to question current dietary guidance on saturated fat.
The latest research, from the National Institutes of Health, in Maryland, found there had been an “over-estimation of the benefits of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils” that are rich in linoleic acid – a type of omega 6 polyunsaturated fat.
Omega 6 polyunsaturated fat is found in a range of cooking oils such as corn, sunflower, grape seed, rapeseed, poppyseed, corn and sesame oils, as well as nuts and seeds. It is also found in some spreads, such as Flora.
In the new study, experts analysed several trials, including the Minnesota Coronary Experiment, which followed 9,423 participants from state mental hospitals and a nursing home from 1973. During the trial, one group of people replaced their saturated fat intake with linoleic acid from corn oil and corn oil polyunsaturated margarine while the control group had diets high in saturated fat, including butter and common margarines.
The team found that, while those on corn oil had a “significant reduction” in cholesterol levels, they experienced a higher rate of death. There was also “no evidence of benefit” in terms of heart disease or risk of heart attack. In an editorial in the British Medical
Journal, Lennert Veerman, senior lecturer at the University of Queensland, said: “The benefits of choosing polyunsaturated fat over saturated fat seem a
‘The benefits of choosing polyunsaturated fat over saturated fat seem a little less certain than we thought’
little less certain than we thought.” Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “The evidence shows that eating too much saturated fat raises your cholesterol levels, increasing your risk of heart disease. The authors call for an in-depth review of the latest evidence on saturated fats and health and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is doing just that. SACN will publish a draft report in 2017.”
Caroline Jary, director of spreads at Unilever, which makes Flora, said: “Overwhelming evidence gathered over the past five decades confirms that reducing intake of animal fats such as from bacon and butter, and replacing them with oils and fats from plants, like those found in our spreads, contribute significantly to heart health.”