Consuming some polyunsaturated fats may be the best way to prevent heart disease, British experts said last night.
Dr Kay-Tee Khaw of Cambridge University, UK and colleagues say that fat intake has long been associated with heart disease risk. The dangers of trans fats are now widely accepted, to the extent that recommendations and legislation on the use of trans fats are common.
The team points out that findings on the role of saturated fat are not conclusive, so they took another look at the relationship, including the role of polyunsaturated/saturated/trans fat ratios.
For the study, they measured fat levels in the blood plasma of 25,639 men and women aged 40 to 79 years, and followed them for about 13 years.
Saturated fat levels were significantly linked with increased risk of coronary heart disease. Those in the top quarter for intake had a 75 per cent higher risk than those in the bottom quarter.
Levels of omega-6 polyunsaturated fat were linked with a reduced risk – 23 per cent lower in the top quarter then the bottom quarter. Levels of monounsaturated fat, omega-3 polyunsaturated fat, and trans fats were not significantly linked with coronary heart disease.
Details appear in the journal PLoS Medicine yesterday (July 3). The authors believe that "these findings are consistent with accumulating evidence suggesting a protective role of omega-6 fats substituting for saturated fats for coronary heart disease prevention".
Foods containing omega-6 polyunsaturated fats include palm, soybean, rapeseed and sunflower oil, eggs, avocado, and nuts.
Other recent studies, on the other hand, have recommended a higher intake of omega-3 fats for heart health. These are usually present in smaller quantities in the typical diet, but found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel.
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