Saturated fat not linked to heart disease or stroke

Michael Eades of Protein Power has a nice lit review of studies showing no health benefits from cutting down on saturated fat, motivated by a new meta-analysis whose take-away message is this:

Results: During 5–23 y of follow-up of 347,747 subjects, 11,006 developed CHD or stroke. Intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD. The pooled relative risk estimates that compared extreme quantiles of saturated fat intake were 1.07 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.19; P = 0.22) for CHD, 0.81 (95% CI: 0.62, 1.05; P = 0.11) for stroke, and 1.00 (95% CI: 0.89, 1.11; P = 0.95) for CVD. Consideration of age, sex, and study quality did not change the results.

Conclusions: A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD. More data are needed to elucidate whether CVD risks are likely to be influenced by the specific nutrients used to replace saturated fat.

One of the authors, Ronald Krauss, is the pioneer in studying the various sub-classes of lipoproteins that cholesterol rides on. Way back in the early '80s, he'd already discovered that it was the small, dense variety of LDL that was associated with heart disease, and that this type was more common in people who ate higher-carb diets. It's warming to know that 30 years later he's still kicking ass.