Fresh research finds drop in cholesterol has no effect on the risk of heart disease or death
- We have long been told butter is full of saturated fat that's 'bad' for health.
- Sunflower and vegetable oil spreads are linked to lower risk of heart attack
- US scientists said those who ate vegetable oil spreads saw cholesterol fall.
- But no drop in heart disease or risk of death for those avoiding butter
Eating ‘healthy’ spreads rather than butter may not reduce the risk of heart disease after all, a major review has concluded.
We have long been told butter is full of ‘bad’ saturated fat and that we should eat sunflower and vegetable oil spreads – which are linked to a lower risk of heart attacks – instead.
Many scientists still defend the advice, but there has been growing debate among experts.
Eating ‘healthy’ spreads rather than butter may not reduce the risk
of heart disease after all, a major review has concluded
Fresh research has cast further doubt on the guidelines. Scientists from the US’s National Institutes of Health found those who ate more of the ‘healthy’ fats in vegetable oils saw their cholesterol fall.
But this improvement in cholesterol did not translate into a drop in heart disease or risk of death compared to those who ate butter.
In fact, those with the greatest reduction in their cholesterol levels appeared to have a higher risk of death, the study, published last night in the British Medical Journal, found.
Britons were advised in 1983 to reduce their fat intake to 30 per cent of total energy and to cut their consumption of butter, full-fat milk and other foods high in saturated fat to 10 per cent.
Meanwhile the ‘good’ polyunsaturated fat in vegetable or sunflower oils – omega-6 fat – has long been linked to a lower heart disease risk.
Flora and other ‘healthy’ spreads boast they are high in omega-6. But several major studies have found that people who eat lots of saturated fat are no more likely to die early than others and a growing number of scientists want the guidelines changed.
The researchers behind the latest study, who are based at the universities of North Carolina and Illinois, found no clear association between eating polyunsaturated fats and a drop in heart disease risk. They said their findings suggest there has been an ‘overestimation of the benefits of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils’.
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| We have long been told butter is full of ‘bad’ saturated fat and that we should eat sunflower and vegetable oil spreads – which are linked to a lower risk of heart attacks – instead |
The scientists re-analysed the 1970s Minnesota Coronary Experiment, which followed 9,423 participants from state mental hospitals and a nursing home.
During the trial, one group of people swapped their normal diets, which included butter, for a diet rich in corn oil and polyunsaturated margarine.
The team found that while those on the polyunsaturated diet had a ‘significant reduction’ in cholesterol levels, they experienced a higher rate of death.
There was also ‘no evidence of benefit’ in terms of heart disease or risk of heart attack, the scientists wrote.
Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and adviser to the National Obesity Forum, said last night: ‘The public health message needs to change to focus on dietary changes that are proven to improve health and that means following a high fat Mediterranean style diet.’
But Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, stood by the current guidelines, saying: ‘The evidence shows eating too much saturated fat raises your cholesterol levels, increasing your risk of heart disease.
‘We are all eating too much saturated fat. This can mean too many calories leading to weight gain and obesity.’
Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, also rejected the findings, saying: ‘We know that having too much cholesterol in your blood can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, which is why managing our cholesterol level is crucial.’
Fresh research has cast further doubt on the guidelines. Scientists from the US’s National Institutes of Health found those who ate more of the ‘healthy’ fats in vegetable oils saw their cholesterol fall
Caroline Jary, director of spreads at Unilever, which makes Flora, said: ‘Overwhelming evidence confirms that reducing intake of animal fats and replacing them with oils and fats from plants, like those found in our spreads, contribute significantly to heart health.
‘Unilever follows health recommendations from all over the world advocating to reduce the intake of saturated fats.’
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which advises the Government, is currently reviewing the evidence on saturated fat, with a draft report due next year.
Researchers from Harvard University, who last year found polyunsaturated fat was linked to a lower risk of heart disease, suggested the reason other studies may not reach that conclusion is that many who cut down on saturated fat then eat more refined carbohydrates, which are another risk factor.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3536942/Ditching-butter-veg-oil-not-better-heart-Fresh-research-finds-drop-cholesterol-no-effect-risk-heart-disease-death.html
