Reducing Saturated Fat Helpful For Some, Study Finds

 

“People susceptible to developing heart issues benefit the most from reducing their consumption of saturated fats, according to a review of research that comes as the federal government prepares to revise dietary recommendations.

 

A paper published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that people at high risk of developing cardiovascular problems saw a reduction in major health issues including heart attack and stroke when they cut back on saturated fats.

 

The picture was different for people without those same cardiovascular risks. Within five years, cutting saturated fats didn't yield the same benefits for that group, the review said.

 

The report comes ahead of an anticipated change to federal dietary guidelines that are likely to embrace the consumption of saturated fats. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said the government's new guidelines would "stress the need to eat saturated fats, dairy, good meat, fresh meat and vegetables." The secretary, who has said he follows a carnivore diet, has lauded food companies that use beef tallow, the melted-down fatty tissue of cattle carcasses, instead of seed oils.

 

The review analyzed data from more than a dozen trials with more than 66,000 people that examined how limiting the consumption of saturated fat affected a person's cardiovascular health, cholesterol and mortality. Foods like steak, butter, ice cream, pizza and many sandwiches contain saturated fat.

 

The researchers said groups making dietary recommendations take more factors into account, including longer term risk of chronic diseases and the overall balance of a diet. "Our results are thus a small piece of the evidence used in informing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans," said Bradley Johnston, one of the study's co-authors.

 

Cutting back on saturated fats is the best dietary advice to prevent high cholesterol for most people, said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University who wasn't involved in the review.

 

"You can't measure something that hasn't developed yet in people who don't have disease," Lichtenstein said. "But the whole idea is you want to prevent it."

 

One systematic review shouldn't have a major effect on policy without a broader body of evidence, she said.

 

The significance of limiting these fats in a person's diet is greater when a person replaces those foods with polyunsaturated fats, or healthy fats, the review said. Studies have found replacing saturated fats in a person's diet with polyunsaturated fat, like fatty fish or canola oil, has lowered a person's level of low-density lipoprotein, or bad cholesterol. It has also reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease.

 

The federal government for decades has advised Americans to reduce their consumption of foods with high concentrations of saturated fats. Government guidelines, which are updated every five years, currently recommend keeping these fats to less than 10% of a person's daily consumed calories. The American Heart Association recommends saturated fats make up less than 6% of calories a person eats each day.

 

The effort to reduce the consumption of saturated fat began in the 1960s, affecting the diets of Americans and the food industry for decades.

 

The health risks associated with saturated fat also depend on the type of food. Hot dogs and other processed meats contain a lot of sodium, which can raise blood pressure, for example. By contrast, the type of fat in milk and yogurt have been linked to weight loss and controlling blood sugar.” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Reducing Saturated Fat Helpful For Some, Study Finds. Calfas, Jennifer.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 Dec 2025: A3.