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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #391283
Research Project: Personalized Nutrition and Healthy Aging

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Saturated fats and health: A reassessment and proposal for food-based recommendations: JACC State-of-the-Art review

Author
item ASTRUP, ARNE - University Of Copenhagen
item MAGKOS, FAIDON - University Of Copenhagen
item BIER, DENNIS - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BRENNA, J. THOMAS - University Of Texas At Austin
item DE OLIVEIRA OTTO, MARCIA - University Of Texas Health Science Center
item HILL, JAMES - University Of Alabama At Birmingham
item KING, JANET - University Of California Berkeley
item MENTE, ANDREW - McMaster University
item ORDOVAS, JOSE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item VOLEK, JEFF - The Ohio State University
item YUSUF, SALIM - McMaster University
item KRAUSS, RONALD - University Of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Submitted to: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2020
Publication Date: 8/18/2020
Citation: Astrup, A., Magkos, F., Bier, D.M., Brenna, J.Thomas, de Oliveira Otto, M.C., Hill, J.O., King, J.C., Mente, A., Ordovas, J.M., Volek, J.S., Yusuf, S., Krauss, R.M. 2020. Saturated fats and health: A reassessment and proposal for food-based recommendations: JACC State-of-the-Art review. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 76(7):844-857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.05.077.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.05.077

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake has persisted despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead found protective effects against stroke. Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL particles, which are much less strongly related to CVD risk. It is also apparent that the health effects of foods cannot be predicted by their content in any nutrient group without considering the overall macronutrient distribution. Whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not associated with increased risk of CVD. The totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods.