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Saturated Fat

News & Research:

• Fried food intake linked to heightened serious heart disease and stroke risk - Science Daily, 1/18/21 - "they pooled the data from six, involving 754,873 participants and 85,906 deaths over an average monitoring period of 9.5 years, to assess the potential link between fried food consumption and deaths from cardiovascular disease and from any cause ... Their analysis showed that compared with the lowest category of weekly fried food consumption, the highest was associated with a 28% heightened risk of major cardiovascular events; a 22% heightened risk of coronary heart disease; and a 37% heightened risk of heart failure"
• Our ability to focus may falter after eating one meal high in saturated fat - Science Daily, 5/12/20 - "The study compared how 51 women performed on a test of their attention after they ate either a meal high in saturated fat or the same meal made with sunflower oil, which is high in unsaturated fat ... Their performance on the test was worse after eating the high-saturated-fat meal than after they ate the meal containing a healthier fat, signaling a link between that fatty food and the brain ... Because both meals were high-fat and potentially problematic, the high-saturated-fat meal's cognitive effect could be even greater if it were compared to a lower-fat meal ... Because both meals were high-fat and potentially problematic, the high-saturated-fat meal's cognitive effect could be even greater if it were compared to a lower-fat meal ... After eating the meal high in saturated fat, all of the participating women were, on average, 11 percent less able to detect target stimuli in the attention assessment. Concentration lapses were also apparent in the women with signs of leaky gut: Their response times were more erratic and they were less able to sustain their attention during the 10-minute test ... Though the study didn't determine what was going on in the brain, Madison said previous research has suggested that food high in saturated fat can drive up inflammation throughout the body, and possibly the brain. Fatty acids also can cross the blood-brain barrier"
• Coconut Oil Consumption Linked to Increased LDL - Medscape, 1/20/20 - "Consuming 3 to 4 tablespoons of coconut oil daily was associated with an estimated 10-mg/dL increase ― about a 9% jump ― in LDL levels"
• Dietary Saturated Fats Tied to Aggressive Prostate Cancer - Medscape, 10/13/16 - "There was also a suggestion of a stronger association among men who did not take statins, which mitigate the effect of fat-related cholesterol ... saturated fat intake affects cholesterol levels, which, in turn, have been tied to prostate cancer development in epidemiological and laboratory ... a high total fat-adjusted saturated fat intake was associated with an elevated odds ratio (OR) for aggressive prostate cancer (OR, 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10 - 2.06; P trend = .009). However, a high total fat-adjusted saturated fat intake had only an attenuated, nonsignificant association in statin users (OR, 1.16; ... There were no statistically significant associations between aggressive prostate cancer and PUFA and MUFA intake, or trans fats intake ... a high level of total cholesterol intake was associated with aggressive prostate cancer in white Americans (OR, 1.62 ... Men who consumed 10% fewer calories from animal fat and 10% more calories from vegetable fat after diagnosis had a 44% lower risk of mortality"
• This is your brain on fried eggs: Brain, motivation and eating a high-fat diet - Science Daily, 7/14/15 - "Fulton's study is the first of its kind to show that, regardless of weight changes, unrestrained intake of saturated fats can have negative effects on the controls of motivation by the brain. "As we were able to control for changes in body weight, hormones and glucose levels, we think that the fats may be affecting the dopamine system by a direct action in the brain," Fulton said. "We in fact have separate evidence that brain inflammation could be involved in this process, as it is evoked by saturated high-fat feeding"
• Abdominal fat accumulation prevented by unsaturated fat - Science Daily, 2/24/14 - "One half of the subjects were random to eat surplus calories from polyunsaturated fat (sunflower oil), while the other half got their surplus calories from saturated fat (palm oil). Both diets contained the same amount of sugar, carbohydrates, fat, and protein; the only difference between muffins was the type of fat ... Despite comparable weight gains between the two diet groups, the surplus consumption of saturated fat caused a markedly greater increase in the amount of fat in the liver and abdomen ... Moreover the total amount of body fat was greater in the saturated fat group, while, on the other hand, the increase in muscle mass was three times less for those who ate saturated fat"
• Dietary Intake of Saturated Fatty Acids and Incident Stroke - Medscape, 5/15/13 - "We sought to test the hypothesis that SFA intake is associated inversely with risk of stroke and its subtypes and positively with coronary heart disease among Japanese, whose average SFA intake is lower than that of Westerners ... We found inverse associations between SFA intake and total stroke [multivariable hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for the highest vs. lowest quintiles = 0.77 (0.65–0.93), trend P = 0.002], intraparenchymal haemorrhage [0.61 (0.43–0.86), P for trend = 0.005], and ischaemic stroke [0.84 (0.67–1.06), trend P = 0.08], primarily for deep intraparenchymal haemorrhage [0.67 (0.45–0.99), P for trend = 0.04] and lacunar infarction [0.75 (0.53, 1.07), trend P = 0.02]. We also observed a positive association between SFAs intake and myocardial infarction [1.39 (0.93–2.08), trend P = 0.046] primarily among men. No associations were observed between SFAs intake and incidence of subarachnoid haemorrhage or sudden cardiac death"
• Re-Analysis Refutes Diet Guidelines Favoring Vegetable Fats - WebMD, 2/6/13 - "The first group was told to consume linoleic acid, in the form of safflower oil and safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine, at levels equal to 15 percent of total calorie intake. This, said Ramsden, is equivalent to roughly twice the amount that Americans currently consume ... While omega-3 consumption was not affected, the men were also asked to lower their saturated fat intake so that it made up less than 10 percent of their diets. They did so by substituting safflower oil for animal fats ... The second group continued their routine nutritional habits ... By newly crunching all the original data the NIH team found that, compared to the no-dietary-change group, the linoleic acid group faced a higher risk of death, from both heart disease specifically as well as from all causes overall ... the NIH team found no evidence to support the notion that linoleic acid confers health benefits. The review highlighted the possibility that boosting omega-6 consumption may actually increase the risk for developing heart disease ... Polyunsaturates are not just involved in cholesterol-lowering. They may also be involved in inflammation, oxidation or clotting"
• New link between high-fat 'Western' diet and atherosclerosis identified - Science Daily, 10/8/12 - "endothelial lipase (EL), an enzyme associated with the development of atherosclerosis ... In the current study, a strain of mice susceptible to atherosclerosis was fed a normal diet enriched with either palmitic acid (a common saturated fat) or eicosapentaenoic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid, or polyunsaturated fat, found in fish oil, among other foods). After 12 weeks, the mice's aortas were examined for changes in the expression of EL and inflammatory factors. Aortas of mice fed the saturated fat diet showed a significant increase in EL and detrimental changes in inflammatory factors, while those of mice fed the polyunsaturated fat diet showed a significant decrease in EL and beneficial changes in inflammatory factors ... when the macrophages were given rosiglitazone, the expression of EL increased markedly. The addition of omega-3 fatty acids to the cells blocked this increase. "This would suggest that besides raising LDL cholesterol levels, rosiglitazone can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease by increasing EL,"" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Fatty diets may be associated with reduced semen quality - Science Daily, 3/14/12 - "The study of 99 men in the USA found an association between a high total fat intake and lower total sperm count and concentration. It also found that men who ate more omega-3 polyunsaturated fats (the type of fat often found in fish and plant oils) had better formed sperm than men who ate less ... if men make changes to their diets so as to reduce the amount of saturated fat they eat and increase their omega-3 intake, then this may not only improve their general health, but could improve their reproductive health too ... the relationship between dietary fats and semen quality was largely driven by the consumption of saturated fats. Men consuming the most saturated fats had a 35% lower total sperm count than men eating the least, and a 38% lower sperm concentration"
• Mediterranean Diet May Protect Brain - WebMD, 2/13/12 - "white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV) ... WMHV is an indicator of small blood vessel damage in the brain and is detected by magnetic resonance screening (MRI) ... researchers compared the brain scans and diets of 966 adults with an average age of 72 ... those who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a lower measure of WMHV than those who did not. Each increase in the Mediterranean diet score was associated with a corresponding decrease in white matter hyperintensity volume score ... the aspect of the Mediterranean diet that seemed to matter most was the ratio of monounsaturated fat to saturated fat"
• High dietary fat, cholesterol linked to increased risk of breast cancer - Science Daily, 1/6/11 - "This mouse model is believed to closely parallel the pathogenesis of human breast cancer. PyMT mice were placed on a diet that contained 21.2 percent fat and 0.2 percent cholesterol, reflective of a typical Western diet. A control group of PyMT mice was fed a normal chow that had only 4.5 percent fat and negligible amounts of cholesterol ... tumors began to develop quickly in mice fed the fat/cholesterol-enriched chow. In this group, the number of tumors was almost doubled, and they were 50 percent larger than those observed in mice that ate a normal diet. "The consumption of a Western diet resulted in accelerated tumor onset and increased tumor incidences, multiplicity, and burden, suggesting an important role for dietary cholesterol in tumor formation," ... There was also a trend towards an increased number of lung metastasis in mice fed the fatty diet"
• How Saturated Fatty Acids 'Anger' The Immune System (And How To Stop Them) - Science Daily, 11/5/09
• Dietary Fat Linked To Pancreatic Cancer - Science Daily, 6/26/09 - "Participants who consumed high amounts of saturated fats had 36% higher relative rates of pancreatic cancer compared with those who consumed low amounts"
• High-fat Diet Could Promote Development Of Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 10/28/08 - "the main neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat and poor in omega-3s"
• Memory Loss Linked To Poor Diet, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/19/08 - "Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have linked memory loss to a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol"
• Diet High In Saturated Fat Contributes To Prostate Cancer Treatment Failure, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 5/8/08 - "Patients on a HSF diets were significantly more likely to have a PSA failure and had significantly shorter PSA-failure free survival than men on a LSF diet (26.6 vs. 44.7 months, respectively). At 5 years post radical prostatectomy, 65% of patients who consumed HSF diets had no evidence of prostate cancer compared to 80% of men who ate a LSF diet"
• Even One Fatty Meal Affects Arteries - WebMD, 8/8/06
• Diet High in Saturated Fat May Reduce Protective Effect of HDL - Medscape, 8/7/06 - "The anti-inflammatory activity of HDL appears to decrease after consumption of saturated fat, but improves on consumption of polyunsaturated fat"
• Saturated fats are worse than you think - MSNBC, 5/19/06 - "too much saturated fat may be problematic, even if your cholesterol isn’t high, because of its possible effects on insulin functions, potentially raising the risk of diabetes, cancer, ovarian disorders and other health problems"
• Burger Diet Raises Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 7/15/03 - "The increase was most closely linked with animal fat -- specifically from animal fat -- and, more specifically, red meat and high-fat dairy foods"

Abstracts:

• Monounsaturated fatty acid-enriched olive oil exacerbates chronic alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis and liver injury in C57BL/6J mice - Food Funct 2023 Jan 19 - "Dietary oil composition determines the pathological processes of alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD). Oil rich in saturated fatty acids protects, whereas oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids aggravates the alcohol-induced liver injury. However, limited studies have been conducted to address how monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) enriched oil controls the pathological development of AFLD. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of MUFA-enriched extra virgin olive oil (OO) on AFLD ... In conclusion, MUFA-enriched OO exacerbated liver dysfunction in vivo. OO should be cautiously considered as a unique dietary oil source for individuals with AFLD"
• Saturated fat from dairy sources is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk in the Framingham Offspring Study - Am J Clin Nutr 2022 Oct 28 - "Males with higher intakes of dairy-derived saturated fats had a less atherogenic profile than males with lower intakes of these fats. These effects were weaker in females. Nondairy saturated fats were not associated with these cardiometabolic outcomes"
• Low-dose Coconut Oil Supplementation Induces Hypothalamic Inflammation, Behavioral Dysfunction and Metabolic Damage in Healthy Mice - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Mar 2 - "These results show that a low dose CO change the behavioral pattern, induces inflammatory pathway activation, TLR4 expression in healthy mice and stimulates the pro-inflammatory response through a TLR4-mediated mechanism"
• Dietary saturated fat intake and risk of stroke: Systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2019 Oct - "This meta-analysis further demonstrated that a higher consumption of dietary SFA is associated with a lower risk of stroke, and every 10 g/day increase in SFA intake is associated with a 6% relative risk reduction in the rate of stroke"
• Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: coronary heart disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions - British Journal of Sports Medicine, Aug. 2017 - "Despite popular belief among doctors and the public, the conceptual model of dietary saturated fat clogging a pipe is just plain wrong. A landmark systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies showed no association between saturated fat consumption and (1) all-cause mortality, (2) coronary heart disease (CHD), (3) CHD mortality, (4) ischaemic stroke or (5) type 2 diabetes in healthy adults.1 Similarly in the secondary prevention of CHD there is no benefit from reduced fat, including saturated fat, on myocardial infarction, cardiovascular or all-cause mortality.2 It is instructive to note that in an angiographic study of postmenopausal women with CHD, greater intake of saturated fat was associated with less progression of atherosclerosis whereas carbohydrate and polyunsaturated fat intake were associated with greater progression"
• The effect of replacing saturated fat with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fat on coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials - Nutr J. 2017 May 19;16(1):30 - "Available evidence from adequately controlled randomised controlled trials suggest replacing SFA with mostly n-6 PUFA is unlikely to reduce CHD events, CHD mortality or total mortality. The suggestion of benefits reported in earlier meta-analyses is due to the inclusion of inadequately controlled trials"
• The Influence of Dietary Fat Source on Life Span in Calorie Restricted Mice - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014 Oct 13 - "C57BL/6J mice were assigned to four groups (a 5% CR control group and three 40% CR groups) and fed diets with soybean oil (high in n-6 PUFAs), fish oil (high in n-3 PUFAs), or lard (high in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids) as the primary lipid source. Life span was increased (p < .05) in all CR groups compared to the Control mice. Life span was also increased (p < .05) in the CR lard mice compared to animals consuming either the CR fish or soybean oil diets"
• Incremental replacement of saturated fats by n-3 fatty acids in high-fat, high-cholesterol diets reduces elevated plasma lipid levels and arterial lipoprotein lipase, macrophages and atherosclerosis in LDLR-/- mice - Atherosclerosis. 2014 Apr 3;234(2):401-409 - "n-3 fatty acids (FA) for saturated FA (SAT) ... Even low levels of replacement of SAT by n-3 FA effectively reduce arterial lipid deposition by decreasing aortic LpL, macrophages and pro-inflammatory markers"
• Dietary intake of palmitate and oleate has broad impact on systemic and tissue lipid profiles in humans - Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Jan 15 - "Epidemiologic evidence has suggested that diets with a high ratio of palmitic acid (PA) to oleic acid (OA) increase risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) ... These results suggest that replacing dietary PA with OA reduces the blood LDL concentration and whole-body fat oxidation by modifying the saturation index of circulating and tissue lipids. In women, these effects are also associated with a higher production and accumulation of acylcarnitines, possibly reflecting a shift in fat catabolism" - Note:  Oleic acid is omega-9.  Olive oil is 76% omega-9.  Palmitic acid is saturated fat.  See:
  • Palmitic acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "Palmitic acid, or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is the most common fatty acid (saturated) found in animals, plants and microorganisms.[4] Its molecular formula is CH3(CH2)14CO2H. As its name indicates, it is a major component of the oil from palm trees (palm oil, palm kernel, and palm kernel oil), but can also be found in meats, cheeses, butter, and dairy products"
• Modulation of human postprandial lipemia by changing ratios of polyunsaturated to saturated (P/S) fatty acid content of blended dietary fats: a cross-over design with repeated measures - Nutr J. 2013 Aug 16;12(1):122 - "This human postprandial study evaluated 3 edible fat blends with differing polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids (P/S) ratios (POL = 0.27, AHA = 1.00, PCAN = 1.32) ... Varying P/S ratios of test meals significantly altered prandial high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations (P < 0.001) which increased with decreasing P/S ratio (POL > AHA > PCAN)"
• Plasma phospholipid fatty acids, dietary fatty acids and prostate cancer risk - Int J Cancer. 2013 Apr 11 - "Animal and experimental studies have demonstrated that long-chain n-3 fatty acids inhibit the development of prostate cancer, whereas n-6 fatty acids might promote it ... Collaborative Cohort Study using a random sample of 1,717 men and 464 prostate cancer cases to investigate associations between fatty acids assessed in plasma phospholipids (PPLs) or diet (estimated using a 121-item food frequency questionnaire) and prostate cancer risk ... Prostate cancer risk was positively associated with %PPL saturated fatty acids (SFAs); HR [95% CI] = 1.51 [1.06, 2.16] (Q5 vs. Q1, fifth vs. first quintile); p-trend = 0.003. HRs (Q5 to Q2 vs. Q1) were significantly elevated for %PPL palmitic acid. %PPL oleic acid was inversely associated with risk, HR = 0.62 [0.43, 0.91] (Q5 vs. Q1); p-trend = 0.04. No statistically significant linear trends were observed for dietary intakes. The HRs were elevated for moderate intakes of linoleic acid (Q2 and Q3 vs. Q1, 1.58 [1.10, 2.28] and 1.70 [1.18, 2.46], respectively), but the increase was not significant for higher intakes (Q4 and Q5). No association varied significantly by tumour aggressiveness (all p-homogeneity > 0.1). Prostate cancer risk was positively associated with %PPL SFA, largely attributable to palmitic acid and inversely associated with %PPL monounsaturated fatty acids, largely attributable to oleic acid. Higher risks were also observed for dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fats, primarily linoleic acid"
• Intake of Small-to-Medium-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids Is Associated with Peripheral Leukocyte Telomere Length in Postmenopausal Women - J Nutr. 2013 Apr 24 - "Intake of short-to-medium-chain saturated fatty acids (SMSFAs; aliphatic tails of ≤12 carbons) was inversely associated with TL"
• Dietary Fat, Fatty Acids, and Risk of Prostate Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Apr;22(4):697-707 - "NIH-American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Diet and Health Study. Diet was assessed at baseline with self-administered food-frequency questionnaires ... Total fat and mono- and polyunsaturated fat intakes were not associated with incidence of prostate cancer. Saturated fat intake was related to increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (HRQuintile 5 vs. Qunitile 1 (Q1 vs. Q5), 1.21; 95% CI, 1.00-1.46; Ptrend = 0.03) and fatal prostate cancer (HRQ5 vs. Q1, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.01-2.15; Ptrend = 0.04). α-Linolenic acid (ALA) intake was related to increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (HRQ5 vs. Q1, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.04-1.31; Ptrend = 0.01). Eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) intake was related to decreased risk of fatal prostate cancer (HRQ5 vs. Q1, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.64-1.04; Ptrend = 0.02)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Total n-3 fatty acid and SFA intakes in relation to insulin resistance in a Canadian First Nation at risk for the development of type 2 diabetes - Public Health Nutr. 2013 Mar 21:1-5 - "Intake of dietary n-3 fatty acids may be protective against whereas SFA intake may promote insulin resistance in this high-risk Canadian First Nation sample. Reduced dietary SFA intake and greater n-3 fatty acid intake may assist the prevention of glycaemic disease among First Nations peoples" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• High dietary intake of saturated fat is associated with reduced semen quality among 701 young Danish men from the general population - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Dec 26 - "The objective was to examine the association between dietary fat intake and semen quality among 701 young Danish men from the general population ... A lower sperm concentration and total sperm count in men with a high intake of saturated fat was found. A significant dose-response association was found, and men in the highest quartile of saturated fat intake had a 38% (95% CI: 0.1%, 61%) lower sperm concentration and a 41% (95% CI: 4%, 64%) lower total sperm count than did men in the lowest quartile. No association between semen quality and intake of other types of fat was found"
• Dietary intake of saturated fatty acids and mortality from cardiovascular disease in Japanese: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk Study? - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Aug 4 - "The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that SFA intake is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in Japanese whose average SFA intake is low ... We observed inverse associations of SFA intake with mortality from total stroke [n = 976; multivariable hazard ratio (95% CI) for highest compared with lowest quintiles: 0.69 (0.53, 0.89); P for trend = 0.004], intraparenchymal hemorrhage [n = 224; 0.48 (0.27, 0.85); P for trend = 0.03], and ischemic stroke [n = 321; 0.58 (0.37, 0.90); P for trend = 0.01]. No multivariable-adjusted associations were observed between SFA and mortality from subarachnoid hemorrhage [n = 153; 0.91 (0.46, 1.80); P for trend = 0.47] and heart disease [n = 836; 0.89 (0.68, 1.15); P for trend = 0.59]. CONCLUSION: SFA intake was inversely associated with mortality from total stroke, including intraparenchymal hemorrhage and ischemic stroke subtypes, in this Japanese cohort"