Not all fats are the same!
Dietary Fatty Acids, Macronutrient Substitutions, Food Sources and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease: Findings From the EPIC‐CVD Case‐Cohort Study Across Nine European Countries
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Total saturated fat intake showed no association with heart disease risk at all.
For decades, guidelines told us to cut saturated fat to prevent heart disease. This massive study says the total amount doesn’t matter—only the source.
Practical Takeaways
Swap butter for yogurt or cheese at breakfast, and choose fish over red meat for dinner.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Total saturated fat intake showed no association with heart disease risk at all.
For decades, guidelines told us to cut saturated fat to prevent heart disease. This massive study says the total amount doesn’t matter—only the source.
Practical Takeaways
Swap butter for yogurt or cheese at breakfast, and choose fish over red meat for dinner.
Publication
Journal
Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
Year
2021
Authors
M. Steur, Laura Johnson, S. Sharp, F. Imamura, I. Sluijs, T. Key, A. Wood, Rajiv Chowdhury, M. Guevara, M. U. Jakobsen, I. Johansson, A. Koulman, K. Overvad, María-José Sánchez, Y. T. van der Schouw, A. Trichopoulou, E. Weiderpass, Maria Wennberg, Ju-Sheng Zheng, H. Boeing, J. Boer, M. Boutron‐Ruault, U. Ericson, A. Heath, I. Huybrechts, L. Imaz, R. Kaaks, V. Krogh, T. Kühn, C. Kyrø, G. Masala, O. Melander, C. Moreno-Iribas, S. Panico, J. Quirós, M. Rodríguez-Barranco, C. Sacerdote, Carmen Santiuste, G. Skeie, A. Tjønneland, R. Tumino, W. Verschuren, R. Zamora-Ros, C. Dahm, A. Perez-Cornago, M. Schulze, T. Tong, E. Riboli, N. Wareham, J. Danesh, A. Butterworth, N. Forouhi
Related Content
Claims (7)
It doesn’t matter as much how much fat, carbs, or protein you eat—what really matters is whether the foods you eat are healthy or processed.
People who eat cheese with saturated fat might actually have a slightly lower risk of heart disease, which is surprising because saturated fat is usually thought to be bad for the heart.
People who get their saturated fat from yogurt instead of other foods might have a slightly lower risk of heart disease, even if they eat the same amount of fat overall.
Eating more or less of different kinds of fats—like butter, olive oil, or vegetable oil—doesn’t seem to change your risk of heart disease, no matter what you eat instead of them. What matters more might be where the fat comes from, like whether it’s in cheese, nuts, or fried food.
Eating more butter — even just a little more — might raise your risk of heart disease a bit compared to getting the same kind of fat from other foods like cheese or fish.