Saturated Fats & Heart Disease

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Saturated Fats & Heart Disease

9 Jul 2023

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Articles by Dr Greger:

An excerpt from Saturated Fat:

According to William C. Roberts, the editor in chief of the American Journal of Cardiology, the only critical risk factor for atherosclerotic plaque buildup is cholesterol, specifically elevated LDL cholesterol in your blood.
To drastically reduce LDL cholesterol levels, we need to drastically reduce our intake of three things: trans fat, which comes from processed foods and naturally from meat and dairy; saturated fat, found mainly in dairy and other animal products and junk foods; and dietary cholesterol, found exclusively in animal-derived foods, especially eggs.
Too much cholesterol in your blood is not only considered the primary risk factor for heart disease but is also unanimously recognized as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
(2022) The Effects of Dietary Cholesterol on Blood Cholesterol. Excerpts:

Blood cholesterol levels are clearly increased by eating dietary cholesterol. In other words, putting cholesterol in our mouth means putting cholesterol in our blood, and it may also potentiate the harmful effects of saturated fats, meaning when we eat sausage and eggs, the eggs may make the effects of the sausage even worse.
If you eat the saturated fat and cholesterol found in two sausage and egg McMuffins every day for two weeks, your cholesterol would shoot up nearly 30 points. If you eat about the same amount of saturated fat without the cholesterol, some kind of cholesterol-free sausage McMuffins without the egg, what would happen? Now the egg would have saturated fat too; so, to even it out, we have to add three strips of bacon to the comparison. Same saturated fat but two-eggs-worth less cholesterol would bump us up only around five points.
So, saturated fat may increase fasting cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol, but especially in the presence of dietary cholesterol.

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2022) Cholesterol and Heart Disease: Why Has There Been So Much Controversy?

(6 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Is the role of cholesterol in heart disease settled beyond a reasonable doubt?" Excerpts:

Scientific consensus panels going back decades established beyond a reasonable doubt that lowering LDL cholesterol reduces the risk of heart attacks. Consistent evidence unequivocally establishes that LDL causes our #1 killer, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. And what raises LDL cholesterol? Saturated fat. And where is cholesterol-raising saturated fat found? The #1 source is dairy; the #2 source is chicken; then pastries, pork, and burgers.

And it’s not just saturated fat. Dietary cholesterol has been known as a dominant factor in the genesis of atherosclerosis since 1908, which is why we should lower our intake of saturated fats, trans fats, and dietary cholesterol as much as possible.

Arterial Function

Videos by Dr Greger:

(2022) Saturated Fat Causes Artery and Lung Inflammation

(4 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "What happens within hours of eating a high-fat meal?" Excerpt:

Intro: Studies show that just a single meal high in saturated fat can impair artery function for hours after consumption. In this three-part video series, we look at what saturated fat does to the body, and how exercise and diet can protect our arteries, thus helping prevent our #1 killer—heart disease. Check it out.

(2022) Exercising to Protect Your Arteries from Fast Food

(5 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "There is a window of time in which sufficient physical activity can help mediate some of the damage caused by eating an unhealthy meal."

(2022) Foods to Help Protect Your Arteries from Saturated Fat

(7 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "If you’re going to have something unhealthy, is there anything you can eat with it to help mediate the damage it may cause?"

IOM Recommendations

In 2006, Institute of Medicine (IOM) published DRI: Dietary Reference Intakes, an encyclopedic, 1330 page report on macro- and micro-nutrients. On Page 70, they recommend that dietary intake of all three of these be minimized: cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fats. For more information, see Trans Fats, Saturated Fats and Heart Disease & Cholesterol.

Source: (2006) DRI: Dietary Reference Intakes, 1330 pages.

Why does IOM recommend minimal intake of dietary cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fats? Because all three are linked to increased total and LDL cholesterol levels, which in turn are linked to elevated risk for CHD (Coronary Heart Disease):

Source: (2006) DRI: Dietary Reference Intakes, 1330 pages.

USDA 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans echoes IOM's report (IOM changed their name to NAM: National Academy of Medicine):

Source: (2020) Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2020-2025) by USDA

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