AHA Advisory Examines Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease

The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued an advisory
concluding that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats will
lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially if
combined with an “overall healthful dietary pattern.” Frank M.
Sacks, et al, “Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A
Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association,”
Circulation, June 15, 2017. AHA reviewed multiple studies on the
effects of dietary saturated fat intake and its replacement with
other types of fats, as well as replacement with carbohydrates, and
concluded that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated
vegetable fat and changing dietary patterns reduces the risk of
CVD by as much as 30 percent.

Key recommendations of the review include lowering intake of
saturated fat, increasing intake of polyunsaturated fat and
avoiding coconut oil, which more than 70 percent of Americans
regard as “healthy,” despite that it actually increases LDL
cholesterol.

Issue 640