Replacing animal fats with vegetable oils does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, as previously thought, but even increases it, according to a new study published in The medical journal BMJ .
A study of 10,000 people who stopped using saturated fats and replaced them with unsaturated omega-6 fats found that the expected effect of limiting fatalities due to heart disease was not achieved.
The most shocking result is that the people who achieve the greatest reduction in cholesterol are also at higher risk than a lower risk of death, which is in complete contradiction with previous concepts in dietary nutrition.
Over the past 50 years, experts have argued that animal fats found in meat, cheese, cheese, cream and other whole milk products contribute to the thickening of blood vessels, the formation of fatty plaques and are the cause of cardiovascular disease and accidents such as stroke and heart attack.
Fifteen years after World War II, the recommendations of leading world health organizations are to replace saturated animal fats with vegetable oils, which are still used today, despite the emergence of research over the last decade, the results of which provoke a correction of this theory.
In order to prevent cardiovascular health, mankind began to avoid whole milk and bacon, to replace pork with chicken, butter with margarine and other cooking oils.
However, the current study is conducted by a sufficiently authoritative institution, the American National Institutes of Health , it is randomly controlled , started 45 years ago. It includes data from 9,423 people, patients from state hospitals and hospices in Minnesota. Some have replaced the use of saturated fats with corn oil, while others have continued to adhere to a diet rich in animal fats. As expected, the intake of linoleic fatty acid contained in vegetable oils contributes to lowering blood cholesterol, but this does not actually help us survive, said Christopher Ramsden's team.
The team is also reviewing other randomized controlled trials that also do not support the hypothesis that vegetable oils limit heart disease.
To change the recommendations to the population for prevention of cardiovascular risk regarding the replacement of unsaturated with polyunsaturated fats, the medical community needs more similar results from serious studies. While we wait for them, it will not be a mistake for our diet to include more consumption of fish, fruits, vegetables and whole grains , experts say.