Ditching saturated fats may ‘do more harm than good’ as people miss out on nutrients in eggs, chocolate, meat and cheese, scientists warn
- Researchers have criticised World Health Organization policy on saturated fat
- They said cutting it out may mean people miss vital vitamins, minerals and fibre
- ‘Policy missteps’ may have led people to trans fats which are also damaging
Telling people not to eat saturated fat may be bad advice and do more harm than good, experts have warned.
Avoiding saturated fats entirely instead of considering the more general health impact of foods may mean important nutrients are missed.
Eggs, dark chocolate, meat and cheese, for example, are high in fat but also contain a lot of vital nutrients and vitamins.
Researchers criticised the World Health Organization for recommending that people cut down on saturated fats instead of being more specific.
They said ‘scientific and policy missteps’, such as encouraging the consumption of even less healthy trans fats which they said may have killed hundreds of thousands of people in recent years.
Saturated fat, of which butter contains a lot, should not be avoided completely because people may end up cutting out foods which have other nutritional benefits, researchers have warned (stock image)
More than a dozen scientists from Europe and the US have published a paper calling for saturated fats not to be demonised.
Saturated fats are those found in milk, cheese, meat, butter and pastries, chocolate and cream.
And although linked to increasing the risk of heart disease, many foods which contain them have health benefits as well.
‘A recommendation to reduce intake of total saturated fat… might cause a reduction in the intake of nutrient dense foods,’ the scientists, led by Arne Astrup, head of the department of nutrition at the University of Copenhagen, said.
These nutrient-dense foods, they said, could reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, non-communicable diseases such as cancer, and malnutrition.
The NHS recommends adult men eat no more than 30g of saturated fat per day and women 20g – equal to about nine or six eggs, or seven or five Mars bars.
Draft guidelines from the World Health Organization recommend people get fewer than 10 per cent of their daily calories (150kcal-250kcal) from saturated fat and instead try to replace them with unsaturated.
Scientists have debated the dangers and benefits of the fats for years because eating a lot of them can raise cholesterol and lead to heart disease, the NHS says.
WHAT IS SATURATED FAT AND WHY IS IT BAD?
Saturated fat is a natural form of fat found in meats, butter and cheese.
It differs from unsaturated fat in the way chains of fatty acids are joined together.
Eating a lot of saturated fat can increase cholesterol levels in an unhealthy way and increase someone’s risk of developing heart disease.
This is because the cholesterol builds up on the walls of the arteries, narrowing them and increasing pressure on the heart while restricting blood and oxygen flow.
Foods high in saturated fat include:
- Fatty red meats such as pork and beef
- Butter and products made of butter, including pastries and pies
- Cakes and biscuits
- Cheese, cream and ice cream
- Chocolate
The British Heart Foundation recommends that, where possible, people swap saturated fats for unsaturated fats.
- Unsaturated fats are those found in:
- Nuts and seeds
- Fish such as salmon and mackerel
- Vegetable oils, including olive oil
- Peanut butter
- Avocados
But foods which happen to be high in saturated fat also provide vital compounds such as vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, iron and zinc.
Dr Astrup and his colleagues said a past focus on reducing saturated fats had led to more foods being made with trans fats.
These are processed foods made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oils and are most associated with fried foods which, we now know, are extremely bad for you.
They said: ‘The widespread consumption of trans fat is considered to have been responsible for six to 19 per cent of all coronary heart disease events in the US in 2006 and to have caused about 2,700 deaths annually [in the UK].’
Denmark banned trans fats in 2004 and the European Union is expected to follow suit soon.
The scientists said saturated fat is simply an umbrella term and what it actually includes is far more complicated and varied.
Butter, for example, is an emulsion of water and oil, while meat fats are 100 per cent lipids – vital molecules which don’t dissolve in water and include some vitamins.
In their report the researchers said: ‘Scientific and policy missteps may have led to many unnecessary deaths globally, and lessons should be learned.’
They added: ‘We’re concerned that, based on several decades of experience, a focus on total saturated fat might have the unintended consequence of misleading governments, consumers, and industry towards promoting foods low in saturated fat but rich in refined starch and sugar.’
Experts working in the field, however, said the researchers should hold back on criticising guidelines the World Health Organization hasn’t published in full yet.
And they added that although incorrect to tar all fats with the same brush, it was also unreasonable to expect the public to understand the differences between them.
Professor Judith Buttriss, director general of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: ‘This highlights the complexity of providing dietary recommendations based on nutrients as we never eat nutrients alone but foods that are a complex mixture of different components.’
WHAT NUTRIENTS ARE IN FOODS HIGH IN SATURATED FAT?
Meat is a major source of high quality protein, easy-to-absorb iron, minerals, and vitamins.
Eggs contain 13 essential vitamins and minerals (including vitamin D, riboflavin and iodine), high quality protein, linolenic acid, choline and carotenoids named lutein and zeaxanthin.
Dark chocolate is rich in fibre, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium. It also contains micronutrients called polyphenols, flavanols, and catechins.
Cheese contains protein, calcium and magnesium.
Professor Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, added: ‘The overall message is somewhat confusing and contains some areas of inaccuracy.
‘If people interpret this as meaning “no need to reduce saturated fat” I would worry that could have adverse consequences for public health.’
He said that regardless of what the study said, saturated fat does increase cholesterol levels and raise the risk of heart disease.
And Professor Tim Chico, from the University of Sheffield, said: ‘I advise people to be reassured about what we already know with great confidence; that a diet high in vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and low in processed food, cakes, biscuits, snacks, etc coupled with regular physical activity slashes the risk of heart disease.’
The paper, ‘WHO draft guidelines on dietary saturated and trans fatty acids: time for a new approach?’ was published in the British Medical Journal.
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