From a registered clinical trial involving 112 study subjects published in the September 2013 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
The replacement of saturated fatty acids with monounsaturated fatty acids or carbohydrates in healthy subjects does not affect vascular function.
There’s also the issue of “loss of face” in admitting being wrong about Y.
Especially if it also turns out that the “experts” still don’t know much about X.
If any fats are likely to be unhealthy if would be the polyunsaturates which have only recently become part of the human diet. (Even if their cis form.)
Then most likely only when they get incorporated in to cell membranes and transport lipoproteins.
Seems to fly in the face of years of certain science and medical wisdom although there have been studies indicating that statins and the like aren’t all that effective. Almost sounded like age is a deterimining factor on how well the arteries work. I’m sure the discussion on this will be quite lively.
sounds like the usual story wrt science and public health: a real deadly effect is caused by X, that sometimes accompanies Y. However as X has nothing to do with people being selfish, scientists concentrate on the study of Y, labelling millions as “sinners!” responsible for their own misfortunes.
in the meanwhile, X keeps killing.
I noticed, too, that the study was of pretty short duration. Hard to say how that influences how we should evaluate it.
Mind you, I was also thinking “BACON!” as Pat did, but I hadn’t actually said it. The idea that dietary fat is a small or even a non-player in arterial disease, though, would be quite the shock.
Not quite Geoff. They mostly did not use meat fat. Bizarre.
It may be the only lesson is that if you plan to eat saturated fats use palm oil or milk fats. And don’t eat sunflower oil.
“In the current study much of the saturated fat in the diet was provided
by palm oil and milk fat rather than meat fats, and the
MUFA was provided by refined high oleic sunflower oil. However,
it may well be that sources of MUFA or PUFA used to
replace animal fats in the diet may contain non–fatty acid components
that influence endothelial function and, in the future,
closer attention needs to be focused on these components, especially
in view of a recent report that showed beneficial effects of
a Mediterranean diet rich in virgin olive oil on stroke”
BACON!
So almost everything we thought we knew about the onset of arterial disease seems to be falsified here.