Do fats make your heart sick?
Association of dietary, circulating, and supplement fatty acids with coronary risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Circulating trans fats in the blood showed NO link to heart disease (RR: 1.05, CI: 0.76–1.44), even though eating them did.
If trans fats are harmful, why don’t they show up in blood tests? This inconsistency suggests measurement issues or hidden confounders.
Practical Takeaways
Avoid processed foods with 'partially hydrogenated oils' — that’s the only fat with clear harm.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Circulating trans fats in the blood showed NO link to heart disease (RR: 1.05, CI: 0.76–1.44), even though eating them did.
If trans fats are harmful, why don’t they show up in blood tests? This inconsistency suggests measurement issues or hidden confounders.
Practical Takeaways
Avoid processed foods with 'partially hydrogenated oils' — that’s the only fat with clear harm.
Publication
Journal
Annals of internal medicine
Year
2014
Authors
Chowdhury R, Warnakula S, Kunutsor S, Crowe F, Ward HA, Johnson L, Franco OH, Butterworth AS, Forouhi NG, Thompson SG, Khaw KT, Mozaffarian D, Danesh J, Di Angelantonio E
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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.
People who eat more fish or other sources of omega-3s don’t seem to have much lower risk of heart disease, according to this review of many studies.
Eating more omega-6 fats—like those in vegetable oils—doesn’t appear to increase or decrease your risk of heart disease, based on this large review.
Even though eating trans fats seems bad for your heart, the amount of trans fat found in your blood doesn’t clearly link to heart disease risk in these studies.
People who eat a lot of trans fats (like in fried or processed foods) are more likely to have heart problems than those who eat very little.