<p> Consuming saturated fat in diet may actually be good for you, claims a new study which challenges the long-held belief that dietary fat is unhealthy for most people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway found strikingly similar health effects of diets based on either lowly processed carbohydrates or fats.<br /><br />In the randomised controlled trial, 38 men with abdominal obesity followed a dietary pattern high in either carbohydrates or fat, of which about half was saturated.<br /><br />Fat mass in the abdominal region, liver and heart was measured with accurate analyses, along with a number of key risk factors for cardiovascular disease.<br /><br />"The very high intake of total and saturated fat did not increase the calculated risk of cardiovascular diseases," said professor Ottar Nygard.<br /><br />"Participants on the very-high-fat diet also had substantial improvements in several important cardiometabolic risk factors, such as ectopic fat storage, blood pressure, blood lipids (triglycerides), insulin and blood sugar," said Nygard.<br /><br />Both groups had similar intakes of energy, proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, the food types were the same and varied mainly in quantity and intake of added sugar was minimised.<br /><br />"We here looked at effects of total and saturated fat in the context of a healthy diet rich in fresh, lowly processed and nutritious foods, including high amounts of vegetables and rice instead of flour-based products," said PhD candidate Vivian Veum.<br /><br />"The fat sources were also lowly processed, mainly butter, cream and cold-pressed oils," said Veum.<br /><br />Total energy intake was within the normal range. Even the participants with increased energy intake during the study showed substantial reductions in fat stores and disease risk.<br /><br />"Our findings indicate that the overriding principle of a healthy diet is not the quantity of fat or carbohydrates, but the quality of the foods we eat," said PhD candidate Johnny Laupsa-Borge.<br /><br />Saturated fat has been thought to promote cardiovascular diseases by raising the "bad" LDL cholesterol in the blood.<br /><br />However, even with a higher fat intake in the Norwegian diet intervention (FATFUNC) study compared to most comparable studies, the researchers found no significant increase in LDL cholesterol.<br /><br />Rather, the "good" cholesterol increased only on the very-high-fat diet.<br />"These results indicate that most healthy people probably tolerate a high intake of saturated fat well, as long as the fat quality is good and total energy intake is not too high. It may even be healthy," said Nygard.<br /><br />"Future studies should examine which people or patients may need to limit their intake of saturated fat," said assistant professor Simon Nitter Dankel, who co-led the study. The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. <br /></p>
<p> Consuming saturated fat in diet may actually be good for you, claims a new study which challenges the long-held belief that dietary fat is unhealthy for most people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway found strikingly similar health effects of diets based on either lowly processed carbohydrates or fats.<br /><br />In the randomised controlled trial, 38 men with abdominal obesity followed a dietary pattern high in either carbohydrates or fat, of which about half was saturated.<br /><br />Fat mass in the abdominal region, liver and heart was measured with accurate analyses, along with a number of key risk factors for cardiovascular disease.<br /><br />"The very high intake of total and saturated fat did not increase the calculated risk of cardiovascular diseases," said professor Ottar Nygard.<br /><br />"Participants on the very-high-fat diet also had substantial improvements in several important cardiometabolic risk factors, such as ectopic fat storage, blood pressure, blood lipids (triglycerides), insulin and blood sugar," said Nygard.<br /><br />Both groups had similar intakes of energy, proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, the food types were the same and varied mainly in quantity and intake of added sugar was minimised.<br /><br />"We here looked at effects of total and saturated fat in the context of a healthy diet rich in fresh, lowly processed and nutritious foods, including high amounts of vegetables and rice instead of flour-based products," said PhD candidate Vivian Veum.<br /><br />"The fat sources were also lowly processed, mainly butter, cream and cold-pressed oils," said Veum.<br /><br />Total energy intake was within the normal range. Even the participants with increased energy intake during the study showed substantial reductions in fat stores and disease risk.<br /><br />"Our findings indicate that the overriding principle of a healthy diet is not the quantity of fat or carbohydrates, but the quality of the foods we eat," said PhD candidate Johnny Laupsa-Borge.<br /><br />Saturated fat has been thought to promote cardiovascular diseases by raising the "bad" LDL cholesterol in the blood.<br /><br />However, even with a higher fat intake in the Norwegian diet intervention (FATFUNC) study compared to most comparable studies, the researchers found no significant increase in LDL cholesterol.<br /><br />Rather, the "good" cholesterol increased only on the very-high-fat diet.<br />"These results indicate that most healthy people probably tolerate a high intake of saturated fat well, as long as the fat quality is good and total energy intake is not too high. It may even be healthy," said Nygard.<br /><br />"Future studies should examine which people or patients may need to limit their intake of saturated fat," said assistant professor Simon Nitter Dankel, who co-led the study. The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. <br /></p>