Swap Butter for Fish Oil to Lower Bad Cholesterol
Abstract 18256: Importance of Controlling Dietary Intake of Saturated Fat for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease: Lessons From the Metabolic Ward Studies
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Dietary cholesterol (from eggs, liver) raises LDL-C — even in controlled settings.
For years, eggs were declared ‘heart-healthy’ because dietary cholesterol doesn’t affect blood cholesterol much — but this meta-analysis shows it does, in controlled trials.
Practical Takeaways
Swap one daily source of saturated fat (butter, cheese, fatty meat) for a source of PUFA — like a handful of walnuts, 2 tbsp of flaxseed, or grilled salmon.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Dietary cholesterol (from eggs, liver) raises LDL-C — even in controlled settings.
For years, eggs were declared ‘heart-healthy’ because dietary cholesterol doesn’t affect blood cholesterol much — but this meta-analysis shows it does, in controlled trials.
Practical Takeaways
Swap one daily source of saturated fat (butter, cheese, fatty meat) for a source of PUFA — like a handful of walnuts, 2 tbsp of flaxseed, or grilled salmon.
Publication
Journal
Circulation
Year
2011
Authors
R. Clarke, J. Hopewell
Related Content
Claims (10)
Multiple large-scale meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies demonstrate no statistically significant association between dietary saturated fat intake and incidence of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease.
Swapping 2% of your diet’s bad fats (trans fats) for healthy oils like soybean or corn oil lowers your cholesterol ratio more than swapping them for bread or pasta.
Eating foods with artificial trans fats, like some fried or baked goods, is linked to higher bad cholesterol in people on tightly controlled diets.
When you swap out 5% of the fat in your diet from butter or meat to oils like sunflower or fish oil, your 'bad' cholesterol goes down by about 20 mg/dL.
Focusing on cutting butter and red meat may help lower cholesterol more than just removing fried foods with trans fats.