What you eat matters more than how much fat you eat
Coronary heart disease prevention: nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Reducing total fat intake had no effect on heart disease in the Women’s Health Initiative trial.
For decades, public health told us to eat low-fat diets. This study shows that cutting total fat—without improving fat quality—did nothing to prevent heart attacks.
Practical Takeaways
Replace one saturated fat source per day (butter, cheese, red meat) with a polyunsaturated source (walnuts, salmon, sunflower oil).
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Reducing total fat intake had no effect on heart disease in the Women’s Health Initiative trial.
For decades, public health told us to eat low-fat diets. This study shows that cutting total fat—without improving fat quality—did nothing to prevent heart attacks.
Practical Takeaways
Replace one saturated fat source per day (butter, cheese, red meat) with a polyunsaturated source (walnuts, salmon, sunflower oil).
Publication
Journal
Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
Year
2011
Authors
S. Bhupathiraju, K. Tucker
Related Content
Claims (7)
Eating healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains—no matter if you're eating fewer carbs or less fat—may lower your risk of heart disease by about 13–15% and help keep your blood fats and inflammation in check.
Eating more fruits and veggies each day may lower your risk of heart disease — the more you eat, the better the protection, which is why doctors tell us to eat plenty of plants.
If you swap out a little bit of butter and fatty meats for healthier fats like nuts and fish oil, you’re less likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease — it’s not about eating less fat, but choosing better kinds of fat.
Taking vitamin pills like E, C, and B vitamins doesn't reliably help prevent heart attacks or save lives from heart disease—and in some cases, they might even make things worse—even though people who eat more of these vitamins often seem to have healthier hearts.
People who follow the Mediterranean diet more closely—like eating more veggies, fish, and olive oil—tend to have a lower chance of dying from heart disease, and every little step up in following the diet cuts their risk by about 9%.