Trans fats, but not saturated fats, linked to risk of death
- September 28, 2015, 10:08 pm
- National News
- 67 Views
HQ City Desk
QUETTA: A large new review of existing research suggests that for healthy people, a reasonable amount of saturated fat in the diet poses no health risk.
Trans fats, on the other hand, were associated with an increased risk of death from any cause, death from cardiovascular disease and a diagnosis of coronary heart disease.
Dietary guidelines recommend that saturated fats, found in animal products like butter, egg yolks and salmon, make up no more than 10 percent of daily calories. Trans unsaturated fats, known as trans fats, like the hydrogenated oils that keep processed foods and margarine shelf-stable, are primarily industrially produced and should provide no more than one percent of daily calories.
For the new review, researchers at several Canadian institutions including McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, included data from 41 studies of the association between saturated fat intake and health outcomes, covering more than 300,000 people, and 20 studies of trans fat intake and health outcomes that covered more than 200,000.
Saturated fat intake was not tied to coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes, but its link to risk of death from coronary heart disease was unclear.
