AHA Pointed Out The Benefits Of Healthy Dietary Fats

AHA issued a new advisory regarding the using healthy dietary fats instead of saturated ones.

Just recently, the American Heart Association or AHA issued an advisory centered around healthy dietary fats and their benefits in reducing cholesterol levels and even decreasing the risks of heart disease.

According to this new report, such a method could potentially be just as useful as statins in reducing health risks. In its release, AHA recommends the replacement of saturated fats with the healthier ones found in several vegetable oils.

AHA Recommends the Use of Healthy Dietary Fats

Healthy dietary fats can be either mono-unsaturated or poly-unsaturated fats. The mono-unsaturated ones can be found in olive oil, avocado, canola, or safflower oils. Peanut oils, as well as soybean and corn oil, come with poly-unsaturated oils. In contrast, saturated oils can be found in full-fat dairy products, meat, or palm and coconut oils.

AHA reportedly decided to order a review of the current information on saturated fats after question arose as to their limitations in recommendations.

“We want to set the record straight on why well-conducted scientific research overwhelmingly supports limiting saturated fat in the diet to prevent diseases of the heart and blood vessels,” stated Dr. Fran Sacks.

Dr. Sacks is the lead advisory author and also a professor of cardiovascular disease prevention part of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

He points out that saturated fats have been proven to increase LDL or bad cholesterol. This is also considered as being a major factor in cardiovascular disease, among others.

Clinical trials compared the results of consuming saturated fats in contrast to poly-unsaturated vegetable oil. Results showed that favoring this latter instead of the saturated fats helped reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease by about 30 percent. This is similar to the results obtained by using statin drugs, stated the advisory.

This new advisory also states that replacing the saturated fats with, for example, mostly refined carbohydrate does not lead to a decreased risk of heart disease.

Sacks points out that a healthy diet should not only include a reduction of saturated fats or unfavorable nutrients. It should also focus on healthy dietary fats and nutrient-rich foods which can help reduce health risks.

The results of the advisory are available in a paper in the journal Circulation.

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Richard Carlisle

Richard is a product of the 90s and a serious fan of the Star Wars series. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology; therefore, he has a great understanding of the relationship between physical activity and mental health. Although he has a full- time job in a clinic, he enjoys covering news related to health and the United States.