It's not how much fat you eat, but what kind
Association between saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid proportions in total fat intake and mortality risk: mediation by the neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) showed no significant benefit or harm in this study.
For years, olive oil has been hailed as a heart-healthy superstar. But here, MUFA/TFAT had no statistically significant link to mortality (p=0.137), challenging its assumed superiority over PUFA.
Practical Takeaways
Replace butter, cheese, and fatty meats with fatty fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, or sunflower oil to improve your SFA/TFAT and PUFA/TFAT ratios.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) showed no significant benefit or harm in this study.
For years, olive oil has been hailed as a heart-healthy superstar. But here, MUFA/TFAT had no statistically significant link to mortality (p=0.137), challenging its assumed superiority over PUFA.
Practical Takeaways
Replace butter, cheese, and fatty meats with fatty fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, or sunflower oil to improve your SFA/TFAT and PUFA/TFAT ratios.
Publication
Journal
Lipids in Health and Disease
Year
2025
Authors
Yanyan Liu, Jiaxuan Wang, Xiaona Chang, Xiaoying Ren, Guang Wang, Jia Liu
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Claims (5)
Eating lots of saturated fat doesn't always lead to heart disease—it depends on what you eat instead. If you swap it with healthy foods, you might be fine, but if you swap it with junk food, it could be worse.
People in the U.S. who eat more of the healthy fats (like those in fish and nuts) compared to their total fat intake tend to live longer, even if they eat the same amount of fat overall — and this holds true no matter their age, gender, income, or health habits.
People who eat a higher share of saturated fats compared to all the fat they consume are more likely to die from any cause, even if they’re not eating more fat overall — and this holds true after accounting for things like age, lifestyle, and health markers.
When people eat more saturated fat, their risk of dying goes up a bit—and part of that risk (about 10%) is because their body shows more inflammation, measured by a blood test called NPAR. When they eat more healthy fats, their risk goes down, and about 12% of that benefit is also linked to this same blood test.
Eating more or less of different kinds of fats—like those in butter, olive oil, or fish—doesn’t seem to change your risk of dying from any cause, as long as you’re otherwise healthy and you account for other lifestyle factors.