Potatoes, Cereals and Alcohol Increase Heart Disease Risk, Not Saturated Fats

17 Oct 2016 --- New research looking into the dietary habits of 42 European countries over 16 years has revealed that the consumption of potatoes, cereals, and alcohol increases risk of heart disease, whereas saturated fats such as dairy, animal proteins, and tree nuts reduce it.

The work, published in the journal of Food and Nutrition Research, examined food consumption, heart disease and cholesterol levels in the most up-to-date international statistics, raising questions about the reliability of existing data, much of which was carried out decades ago.

The study showed that the most significant dietary correlate of low CVD risk was high total fat and animal protein consumption. Additional statistical analyses further highlighted citrus fruits, high-fat dairy, such as cheese, and tree nuts. However, the research did show an exceptionally strong relationship between raised cholesterol in men and the combined consumption of animal fat and animal protein.

Yet, overall, the study revealed that the major correlate of high CVD risk was the proportion of energy taken from carbohydrates and alcohol, or from potato and cereal carbohydrates.

Similar patterns were observed between food consumption and CVD statistics from the period 1980–2000, which shows that these relationships are stable over time.

However, there were striking discrepancies found in men’s CVD statistics from 1980 and 1990, which researchers believe explains the origin of the ‘saturated fat hypothesis’ that influenced public health policies in the following decades.

The researchers claim that their results do not support the association between CVDs and saturated fat, which is still contained in official dietary guidelines today.

Instead, they argue that the data accumulated from recent studies that link CVD risk with the high glycaemic index/load of carbohydrate-based diets is up to date, showing an actual representation of how different foods impact our health.

The study is not the first to argue that saturated fat has been wrongly demonized, and the researchers stated that: “In the absence of any scientific evidence connecting saturated fat with CVDs, these findings show that current dietary recommendations regarding CVDs should be seriously reconsidered.”