We’ve gotten more sophisticated at how we look at dietary fats over the years. Saturated fat, in particular, has gathered a lot of attention lately. Is it universally bad for you? Are there sources of saturated fats that are healthier? What even is a saturated fat?
It’s American Heart Month, and the perfect time to talk about nutrition and heart health. Previously, we’ve talked about dietary cholesterol and trans fats. Today, I’m breaking down the debate around saturated fat. Just another reminder that there isn’t one magical thing you can do to prevent heart disease. There are, however, many things that can help promote heart health. Paying attention to heart healthy fats is one of those things!
What is saturated fat?
Dietary fats, in general, are made up of a carbon chain with varying amounts of hydrogen attached to each carbon. Saturated fats contain only single bonds between each carbon, meaning that each carbon has about two hydrogens attached. Therefore, the fat is “saturated” with hydrogen. Because of this, saturated fats are solid at room temperature (think butter or coconut oil).
Are saturated fats harmful?
Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer to this question. You may have heard that saturated fats have a negative effect on blood cholesterol. This is true, to a point. Basically, we have consistent evidence to suggest that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats reduces the risk for cardiovascular events. However, replacing saturated fats with refined carbohydrates (white bread, pastas, etc.) does not decrease risk for cardiovascular events. So reducing saturated fat intake promotes heart health, if those fats are substituted with healthier fats (unsaturated). It’s about the type of fat consumed, more so than how much.
What about coconut oil, I thought that was heart healthy?
Here’s where things get more complicated. Over the last year or so, coconut oil has become all the rage. This is a bit concerning, however, since coconut oil is primarily a saturated fat (hence why it’s solid at room temperature). And, like I mentioned above, we have good evidence to suggest that lower saturated fat intake is more heart healthy. At the same time, however, we don’t know a whole lot about if saturated fats in plants have the same cardiometabolic effects as other saturated fats. There is some evidence to suggest that coconut oil and other saturated fats from plants increase both LDL (“bad”) and HDL (“good”) cholesterol. This would make them relatively harmless. We don’t have good long-term data to suggest this though. Basically, we need more research before we proclaim coconut oil heart healthy or not. My approach in instances like these is moderation above all else. You don’t have to chuck your coconut oil, but it’s smart to focus more on other unsaturated plant oils that we have good data to suggest are heart healthy.
What about dairy?
Things get tricky here too. Some studies have found that the saturated fat in dairy products does not increase cardiovascular disease risk. Others have found that dairy may be protective against cardiovascular disease. There’s a lot of other nutrients in dairy products that may mitigate the potential negative effects of saturated fat. At this point, there just isn’t good enough data to suggest that dairy consumption should be reduced to promote heart health, despite its saturated fat content.
Now I’m confused…should I be reducing my saturated fat intake, or not?
It mostly depends on where this saturated fat is coming from. Like I said, we have good evidence to suggest that consuming more unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats is heart healthy. However, there are some sources of saturated fats that may promote heart health (dairy), and others that we just don’t quite know about yet (coconut oil). Saturated fats in baked goods, fried foods, processed meats, and packaged foods are good ones to focus on reducing. If you have specific concerns about your heart disease risk and saturated fat, it’s a good idea to have a conversation with your dietitian and doctor.
The most important thing, however, may be to add more unsaturated fat to your diet instead of just worrying about reducing saturated fat.
TL;DR
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats reduces risk of cardiovascular disease.
Replacing saturated fats with refined carbohydrates does not reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.
The jury is still out on whether or not saturated fats from plants should be limited in the diet.
Saturated fats in dairy products don’t appear to increase risk of cardiovascular disease, and may even lower risk.
Focusing on the type of fat you’re eating seems to be more important than how much fat you’re eating.