Eating more saturated fats, like those in butter and red meat, raises the bad cholesterol in your blood, which can build up as gunk in your arteries over time.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (3)
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This study found that people who ate more saturated fats (like butter and fatty meat) had higher cholesterol in their blood and were more likely to die from heart disease — which means saturated fats likely clog arteries over time.
The effects of foods on LDL cholesterol levels: A systematic review of the accumulated evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
This study found that eating lots of saturated fats (like butter and fatty meats) raises the bad cholesterol in your blood, which is exactly what the claim says. Higher bad cholesterol leads to clogged arteries, so this study backs up the claim.
This study says eating less saturated fat helps lower bad cholesterol and reduces heart disease risk, which supports the idea that eating more saturated fat raises bad cholesterol and harms arteries.
Contradicting (1)
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This study says that not everyone’s cholesterol goes up when they eat saturated fat — some people’s stays the same — which is why some big studies can’t find a clear link between butter and heart disease. It doesn’t say saturated fat doesn’t raise cholesterol at all, just that it doesn’t affect everyone the same way.
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.