Scientists Say Saturated Fat May Not Actually Cause Heart Disease, You May Now Eat Hella Hamburgers

We all owe butter, red meat, cheese and other delicious foods a super-sized  sorry: a new “whoops my bad” analysis has revealed that saturated fat may not actually be linked to coronary health. Suck it, kale, your reign is over!

The surprising amendment to healthy food gospel was published recently in Internal Annals of Medicine. After 45 studies and 27 trials involving 600,000 participants and spanning 18 countries, the writers concluded that the total amount of saturated fat in one’s diet or blood stream has no impact on heart health. Explains study author Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, “These are interesting results that potentially stimulate new lines of scientific inquiry and encourage careful reappraisal of our current nutritional guidelines.”

Wait, “careful appraisal”? Okay ,well, I guess I can try and chew these fried pickles pensively.

Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, also encourages healthy eaters everywhere to not immediately jump on the bacon-laced bandwagon:

This analysis of existing data suggests there isn’t enough evidence to say that a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats but low in saturated fats reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. But large scale clinical studies are needed, as these researchers recommend, before making a conclusive judgement.

The analysis does confirm that trans fats are still absolute evil (cue the Imperial March), and posits that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may have a beneficial impact on heart health. Dariush Mozaffari, another author on the study, explains that the analysis doesn’t necessarily mean traditionally unhealthy foods are aren’t actually bad for you, just that nutritional content should be determined holistically.

“Guidelines that focus on the nutrients, single nutrients, as targets for preventing chronic diseases don’t make a lot of sense,” Mozaffari said. “I think we need to move to food-based guidelines, to really talk about food, not nutrients.”

Solid advice, sir. I would try to practice moderation, but I’m too busy competing in the Hunger Games, i.e. a game where I try and decide how much brie is too much brie to eat based on my own individual analysis.

(via io9, image via The Food Network)

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