A new study found that replacing saturated fat-containing food such as meat and dairy products with processed carbs does not decrease the risk of individuals to develop heart diseases. Instead, unsaturated fat or whole grains remain to be the best substitutes to taper down the risk.
Although past researches have delved into the differences between carbohydrates, saturated and unsaturated fats in terms of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, the relationship between saturated fats in people's diets and their risk of suffering from CHD continues to be contentious. In this new study, the scientists analyzed the effects of saturated fats to CHD risk, compared to unsaturated fats and carbohydrate sources.
Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted the study by monitoring 84,628 women from the Nurses' Health Study between 1980 to 2010 and 2,908 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study from 1986 to 2010. The participants were not diagnosed with cancer, diabetes and heart disease during the initial assessment.
Every four years, the participants were asked to fill up questionnaires about their diet, medical history, lifestyle and new diseases. This investigation ran for about 24 to 30 years. Specifically, the questionnaire asked about the frequency and amount of intake of particular food items during the past year. The subjects were also asked to identify the specific type of oil used in cooking and served at the dining table.
The findings of the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that during the entire duration of the study, 7,667 cases of CHD were noted.
People who consumed carbohydrates from refined starches or added sugars exhibited a positive association with increased CHD risk. On the other end of the spectrum, those who consumed polyunsaturated fatty acids from whole grains, were associated with lower CHD risk.
The researchers also found that consuming polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fatty acids, or carbohydrates from whole grains in replacement to the 5 percent energy equivalent of saturated fats may decrease CHD risk by 25, 15 and 9 percent respectively.
Changing saturated fats with carbohydrates from added sugars or refined starches, however, did not demonstrate a link with the risk of developing CHD.
Yanping Li, co-first author of the study said that their study results suggest that the low-fat, high-carbohydrate fad diets that boomed some 35 to 25 years ago are not effective in decreasing the risk of CHD. This signifies that replacing saturated fat with processed carbs and vice-versa should not be practiced.
According to Valentin Fuster, M.D., the editor-in-chief of the journal where the study was published, clinicians should help patients engage in healthy choices. "All physicians and medical personnel who interact with patients should speak with them about the benefits of consuming unsaturated fats and healthy carbohydrates," he said.
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