Eating saturated fats like butter or meat might not raise your cholesterol if you also eat enough omega-3 fats from fish or nuts—so it’s not just the saturated fat that matters, but what else you’re eating with it.

If scientists find out that omega-3 fats (like those in fish) cancel out the bad effects of saturated fats (like butter or cheese) on cholesterol, then maybe we shouldn’t be told to avoid saturated fats so strictly anymore.

Some fish oils might help reduce the bad effect that fatty foods like butter and meat have on your blood fats, but we’re not totally sure yet.

For people who already have heart disease, eating foods high in saturated fats—like butter or red meat—doesn’t seem to make their chances of having a heart attack or dying any higher or lower.

Eating foods with saturated fat, like butter or meat, doesn't seem to raise your risk of heart disease or dying from it, based on the studies reviewed.

Dietary intake of saturated fatty acids increases circulating levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in humans through upregulation of hepatic cholesterol synthesis and reduced LDL receptor expression.