Replacing saturated fats, like those in butter, cheese, and red meat, with unsaturated fats, like those in walnuts, olive oil, and avocados, can help reduce risk of heart disease. But are all saturated fats created equal? To better assess this relationship, scientists analyzed the diets of 2 large groups of European adults (from Denmark & the U.K.) totaling more than 75,000 participants, and then monitored their health outcomes more than a decade later. In one of the groups (the Denmark group), saturated fats from meat were linked with a higher risk of a heart attack, but other sources of saturated fat were not significantly linked with heart attack risk in either direction. Scientists also noted that lauric acid and myristic acid (saturated fats found in foods like coconut oil) were also linked with lower heart attack risk in the Denmark group, but not the U.K. group. More research is needed to better understand how different foods might relate to heart attack risk.
International Journal of Cardiology. 2019 Mar 15;279:18-26. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2018.10.064. (Praagman J et al.)