Vegetable fat not the route to a healthy heart

In the human diet with vegetable oil does not seem to reduce the risk of animal fat in place of heart disease, according to that challenge the basis of a study of dietary advice published on Wednesday, even promote it you can.

Omega 6 unsaturated to saturated fat, lower blood cholesterol switch had resulted in his trial nearly 10,000 participants, he said, but the expected reduction in heart disease mortality.

In fact, according to research published by the medical journal BMJ those with higher cholesterol reduction, rather than a lower risk of death was higher.

For more than 50 years, meat, butter is bad boy, animal fat diet of cheese and cream world - heart disease and blamed for the increase artery-clogging cholesterol linked to stroke.

In 1961, the American Hearth Association recommends replacing saturated fats with vegetable oils - have begun to challenge a position it still holds the hypothesis that some research as far.

The World Health Organisation advises that also contains saturated fat should be less than 10% of total energy intake.

Now, pork, and chicken with the butter with full-fat milk and bacon decades saw the suspect and plant-based margarine and cooking oil.

But in the past few years, researchers "have begun fat is bad" poking holes in the hypothesis.

New research, led by Christopher Ramsden at the National Institutes of Health, conducted a randomized controlled trial to analyze the data with the Minnesota state mental hospitals and 9,423 nursing home residents 45 years ago.

Usually considered a variety of highly reliable - - in which randomly divided into groups to receive or not, being studied for the treatment experience.

- Less certain than we thought, "he said -

While others ate a diet high in animal fat part of the Minnesota group, their intake of saturated fat was replaced with corn oil.

As expected, the low-enriched diet, cholesterol levels of linoleic acid (a fatty acid found in plant oils) said in a statement from the BMJ.

But that has not translated to improved survival. In fact, less than participants who had greater reduction in blood cholesterol, than the risk of death was higher.

The team also looked at other randomized controlled trials, and vegetable oils that hypothesis prevent heart disease found no evidence to support anywhere.

The benefits of choosing more saturated fat than saturated fat seems to be a little less than we thought, Lennert Veerman, Queensland School of Public Health study in university lecturer comment.

Provide all kinds of omega-6 fats similar results to determine whether further research, he said, is needed.

While we wait for more clarity, we should continue to more fish, fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods, says Veerman.

According to Veerman, has now increased a recommendation that testing will be under scrutiny - in January, the updated US Dietary Guidelines reiterate less than 10% of food intake in a day should be made up of saturated fat .

If blood cholesterol values ​​are not a reliable indicator of the risk of heart disease, then careful review, the need for evidence that supports the dietary recommendations they wrote in the BMJ.

Other experts called an established link between high cholesterol and heart attack or stroke risk.

More research studies and long or less saturated fat meal needs to be examined can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, said Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation.