Why eating too much pork might raise your bad cholesterol
Associations of Dietary Intakes of Total and Specific Types of Fat with Blood Lipid Levels in the Filipino Women’s Diet and Health Study (FiLWHEL)
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study looked at Filipino women in Korea and found that eating more saturated fat (mostly from pork) was linked to higher bad cholesterol, but swapping carbs for healthy fats like olive oil helped lower risk.
Surprising Findings
High saturated fat intake was NOT linked to high triglycerides or low HDL — only to high total cholesterol and LDL-C.
Most people assume saturated fat worsens all lipid markers. But here, TG and HDL didn’t budge — suggesting SFA’s harm is very specific to LDL, which changes how we interpret risk.
Practical Takeaways
If you eat a lot of pork or other saturated fats, consider swapping some carbs (like white rice or bread) for olive oil, avocado, or nuts — it cut risk by 64% here.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study looked at Filipino women in Korea and found that eating more saturated fat (mostly from pork) was linked to higher bad cholesterol, but swapping carbs for healthy fats like olive oil helped lower risk.
Surprising Findings
High saturated fat intake was NOT linked to high triglycerides or low HDL — only to high total cholesterol and LDL-C.
Most people assume saturated fat worsens all lipid markers. But here, TG and HDL didn’t budge — suggesting SFA’s harm is very specific to LDL, which changes how we interpret risk.
Practical Takeaways
If you eat a lot of pork or other saturated fats, consider swapping some carbs (like white rice or bread) for olive oil, avocado, or nuts — it cut risk by 64% here.
Publication
Journal
Global Heart
Year
2023
Authors
Heejin Lee, H. Kim, S. Provido, Minji Kang, Grace H. Chung, Jae W. Lee, S. Hong, S. Yu, Chang Beom Lee, J. E. Lee
Related Content
Claims (2)
Filipino women in Korea who ate more saturated fat (like from pork and eggs) were much more likely to have high bad cholesterol and unhealthy blood fat levels than those who ate less.
Some Filipino women have a specific gene version (CC) that makes them more sensitive to the bad effects of saturated fat on cholesterol — when they eat more saturated fat, their cholesterol rises more than in women without this gene version.