Quality, not quantity, in dietary fat influence on heart disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows that it is the type, not the quantity, of dietary fat that can have an impact on heart disease risk.
It has long been advised that people switch to polyunsaturated fats - derived from vegetable sources - from saturated fats to lower their risk of heart problems. A team at the University of Kuopio, Finland, now adds new evidence.

They looked into the dietary linoleic and polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes of a group of 1,551 middle-aged men and related them to heart disease risk. During 15 years of follow-up, it was found that those with the highest intakes of these fats were three times less likely to die from heart disease, compared to those with the lowest intake.

But there was no link between total fat intake and death from heart disease. This suggests that it is the quality, rather than the quantity, of fat intake that influences the risk of heart disease.

Source
Archives of Internal Medicine 24th January 2005 Volume 165 pages 193-199