Trans-fat can lead to death! August 14, 5:23 pm

The major study into the health risks of dietary fats failed to find a link between food with saturated fats and a higher risk of death from heart disease, type-2 diabetes or stroke. The industrial trans fats were especially problematic when it came to the risk for coronary heart disease and death by coronary heart disease (42 percent and 18 percent increased risks, respectively).

Contrary to popular belief, latest studies have shown that a reasonable amount of saturated fat in the diet poses no health risk.

Patton said that’s likely because trans fats increase your bad cholesterol and decrease your good cholesterol which then increases your risk of heart disease.

The saturated fats found in meat and dairy produce are not as bad for health as previously believed, a study has found. However, the scientists who conducted the research have warned against reaching for the butter dish.

Lead researcher Russell de Souza, an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University in Canada, stated that trans fat – fat extracted from plant oils and produced in industries and use for margarines and other fast food products, does not seem to confer any health benefits on consumers but rather increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases. That they are unhealthy, have no nutritional value, and may boost the risk of many diseases including death from all causes. “There may be other potential mechanisms”.

Among men, trans fatty acid intake declined between 1980 and 2009 from 2.9 percent of daily calories to 1.9 percent, according to a 2014 study (see Reuters Health story of October 22, 2014 here: reut.rs/1z0fHu4). And in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has already committed to removing all artificial trans fats from the American food supply by 2018.

And researchers also found no clear association between trans fats and ischemic stroke.

The potential link between trans fat intake and each health outcome was assessed in one to six prospective cohort studies involving 12,942 to 230,135 participants.

Before official regulations shed light on the new dietary guidelines, we are advised to better asses our nutrition habits and concentrate more on eating natural foods, fruits, vegetables and natural, unprocessed oils.

Few observational studies have modeled the effect of replacing saturated fat or trans fat with other nutrients, they said. Yet, he admitted that whether more saturated fats were beneficial remains “less clear”.