According to a study, fats from foods like some fish, nuts and vegetable oil might lower the risk of heart problems by 20% compared to use of saturated fats.
Saturated fats have been related to "bad" cholesterol, which can block arteries and cause heart attacks.
The study findings, after analyzing data from over 13,000 subjects, were released on Tuesday in the journal PLoS Medicine.
The American Heart Association lists fish such as salmon, mackerel and trout, walnuts and sunflower seeds and soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil as among foods which are high in polyunsaturated fat.
In some instances trans fats have substituted saturated fat, but in the general American diet it seems that saturated fat has normally been replaced with greater consumption of refined carbohydrates and grains.
The absence of public health guidelines on specific nutrient replacements further puzzles the situation. Also, some groups are of the opinion that it is better to reduce or limit consumption of polyunsaturated fat consumption as well.
The authors of the study wrote in their background information, "Results from prior individual randomized controlled trials of saturated fat reduction and heart disease events were very mixed, with most showing no significant effects".
Therefore, it is vital that right education should be given to the masses, which diet they should adhere to, and it should be based on facts supported by adequate research.
If appropriate guidelines are issued by the public health officials, it will clear people's mind and direct the masses to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Obviously, if the public is educated about the right intake of a balanced diet, it will result in healthier population.
HSPH explains the new study as the "first conclusive evidence" from medical trial data to reveal that people who substituted saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat lowered their risk of coronary heart disease by 19%.
Lead Author, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH and the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said, "The specific replacement nutrient for saturated fat may be very important".
He added, "Our findings suggest that polyunsaturated fats would be a preferred replacement for saturated fats for better heart health".
SOURCE: topnews.us
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