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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   36307 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 28, 2022

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And cardiac science has recently shown how absolutely vital saturated fats are for heart health

Has it? Their conclusion says:

In summary, manipulation of dietary fat intake shows promise in the prevention and treatment of [heart failure]. Clinical studies generally support high intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from marine sources to prevent and treat HF. Additional clinical and animals studies are needed to determine the optimal diet in terms of the relative and absolute intake of saturated, monounsaturated, and n-3 and n-6 PUFA for this vulnerable patient population.

In other words: omega-3 fats are good (which everyone knows already) and further research is needed for the others. Nothing of substance.

Where did you find them saying that saturated fats are "absolutely vital" for heart health? The only claim I could find that comes even close is:

We recently used a similar hamster model to compare the effects of two high fat diets (45% of energy from fat): one high n-3 PUFA and n-6 PUFA, and the other high in saturated and monounsaturated fat. There was only a modest ~10% increase in body mass with the two high fat diets, but surprisingly consumption of the high saturated and monounsaturated fat diet prolonged life compared to either the standard low fat diet or the high n-3PUFA + n-6PUFA diet (Figure 2). We found improved survival in cardiomyopathic hamsters fed the high saturated and monounsaturated fat diet compared to either a standard low fat diet (12% fat), or a high fat diet enriched with n-3PUFA and n-6PUFA7. Again, as with the SHHF rat, the relevance of this model to most cases of human HF is limited and one should use caution in extrapolating to patients.

Admittedly, I've only skimmed the article.

Edit: I want to point out that the paper itself is about high-fat, low-carb diets, not about specific types of fat.

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