Why consume less saturated fat?
For years, consumers have followed low-fat diets as ways to improve health. Unfortunately, low-fat diets may have unintended consequences when they turn people toward foods high in added sugar, sodium, and refined grains. Research has found that the type of fat, not just overall fat content, matters. Saturated fats should be replaced with unsaturated fats, which are associated with reduced blood levels of total cholesterol and of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL cholesterol), as well as a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease events. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of calories per day.
Sources:
- Mozaffarian, Dariush, MD, DrPH, and David S. Ludwig, MD, DrPH. "The 2015 US Dietary Guidelines: Lifting the Ban on Total Dietary Fat." The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 2015;313(24):2421-2422. June 23, 2015. Accessed August 02, 2016.
- La Berge, Ann F. "How the Ideology of Low Fat Conquered America." Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. February 23, 2008. Accessed August 02, 2016.