Saturated Fat Consumption Still isn't Associated with Cardiovascular Disease

Stephan Guyenet on Saturated Fat

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Saturated Fat Consumption Still isn't Associated with Cardiovascular Disease



The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition just published the results of a major Japanese study on saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease (1). Investigators measured dietary habits, then followed 58,453 men and women for 14.1 years. They found that people who ate the most saturated fat had the same heart attack risk as those who ate the least*. Furthermore, people who ate the most saturated fat had a lower risk of stroke than those who ate the least. It's notable that stroke is a larger public health threat in Japan than heart attacks.


This is broadly consistent with the rest of the observational studies examining saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease risk. A recent review paper by Dr. Ronald Krauss's group summed up what is obvious to any unbiased person who is familiar with the literature, that saturated fat consumption doesn't associate with heart attack risk (2). In a series of editorials, some of his colleagues attempted to discredit and intimidate him after its publication (3, 4). No meta-analysis is perfect, but their criticisms were largely unfounded (5, 6).


*Actually, people who ate the most saturated fat had a lower risk but it wasn't statistically significant.

"...studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease"

From The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition comes a study ending this way:

"... there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD." (emphasis mine)

This was the conclusion of Dr. Ronald Krauss one of the most prominent lipid researchers in the world according to Steven Guyenet whose Whole Health Source blog alerted me to the study.

P.S. I recommend Steven's Whole Health Source blog as an excellent source of credible evidence.