Swapping saturated fat out for vegetable oil may not carry health benefits

In a major challenge to dietary advice given over the last 40 years, a study has indicated that not only could replacing animal fat with vegetable oil not reduce your risk of heart disease, it may actually increase it.
Cholesterol levels do appear to be lowered at least, if you replace saturated fats with vegetable oils. An American trial of almost 10,000 participants found that those who switched to unsaturated Omega-6 fats, instead of having saturated fats, ended up with lower blood cholesterol levels.
However, experts claim this does not go on to impact your life expectancy or risk of heart disease, as the study did not reduce the number of deaths caused by heart disease as had been expected by the researchers. In fact, the researchers claim that having lower cholesterol levels raises your risk of heart disease.
Back in 1961, vegetable oils were recommended by the American Heart Association as a replacement for saturated fats. This ‘advice’ has been one of the cornerstones of dietary advice over the last half a century, but now it faces serious challenges.
This new study was conducted by a team of researchers, led by scientists from the National Institutes of Health and the University of North Carolina, and their conclusion was that insufficient evidence from 40 years ago had resulted in a ‘misunderstanding’ of the inclusion of saturated fats in our diet.
The recent research was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), who said: “Available evidence from randomised controlled trials shows that replacement of saturated fat in the diet with linoleic acid effectively lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the hypothesis that this translates to a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes.”
More research into the pros and cons of saturated fats is still required before experts can say without doubt that we should eat more or less of it, so people should not take this news as a sign to suddenly consume high amounts of saturated fat just yet. But, some studies have indicated that certain types of saturated fats can help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.