Healthcare 2017, 5(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare5020029
Saturated Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease: Replacements for Saturated Fat to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
1
Department of Biology, Lycoming College, 700 College Place, Williamsport, PA 17701, USA
2
Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Sampath Parthasarathy
Received: 15 May 2017 / Revised: 13 June 2017 / Accepted: 16 June 2017 / Published: 21 June 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Cardiovascular Disease)
Abstract
Dietary recommendations to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) have focused on reducing intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) for more than 50 years. While the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise substituting both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids for SFA, evidence supports other nutrient substitutions that will also reduce CVD risk. For example, replacing SFA with whole grains, but not refined carbohydrates, reduces CVD risk. Replacing SFA with protein, especially plant protein, may also reduce CVD risk. While dairy fat (milk, cheese) is associated with a slightly lower CVD risk compared to meat, dairy fat results in a significantly greater CVD risk relative to unsaturated fatty acids. As research continues, we will refine our understanding of dietary patterns associated with lower CVD risk. View Full-TextKeywords:
dietary substitution; CVD; saturated fatty acids; protein; monounsaturated fatty acids; polyunsaturated fatty acids; dairy fat; refined carbohydrates; whole grains
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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Briggs, M.A.; Petersen, K.S.; Kris-Etherton, P.M. Saturated Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease: Replacements for Saturated Fat to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk. Healthcare 2017, 5, 29.
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