Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

. 2017 Jul 18;136(3):e1-e23.

doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000510. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

Alice H Lichtenstein, Jason H Y Wu, Lawrence J Appel, Mark A Creager, Penny M Kris-Etherton, Michael Miller, Eric B Rimm, Lawrence L Rudel, Jennifer G Robinson, Neil J Stone, Linda V Van Horn; American Heart Association

Review

Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association

Frank M Sacks et al. Circulation. 2017.

Erratum in

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death, accounting for 17.3 million deaths per year. Preventive treatment that reduces CVD by even a small percentage can substantially reduce, nationally and globally, the number of people who develop CVD and the costs of caring for them. This American Heart Association presidential advisory on dietary fats and CVD reviews and discusses the scientific evidence, including the most recent studies, on the effects of dietary saturated fat intake and its replacement by other types of fats and carbohydrates on CVD. In summary, randomized controlled trials that lowered intake of dietary saturated fat and replaced it with polyunsaturated vegetable oil reduced CVD by ≈30%, similar to the reduction achieved by statin treatment. Prospective observational studies in many populations showed that lower intake of saturated fat coupled with higher intake of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat is associated with lower rates of CVD and of other major causes of death and all-cause mortality. In contrast, replacement of saturated fat with mostly refined carbohydrates and sugars is not associated with lower rates of CVD and did not reduce CVD in clinical trials. Replacement of saturated with unsaturated fats lowers low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, a cause of atherosclerosis, linking biological evidence with incidence of CVD in populations and in clinical trials. Taking into consideration the totality of the scientific evidence, satisfying rigorous criteria for causality, we conclude strongly that lowering intake of saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats, will lower the incidence of CVD. This recommended shift from saturated to unsaturated fats should occur simultaneously in an overall healthful dietary pattern such as DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) or the Mediterranean diet as emphasized by the 2013 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology lifestyle guidelines and the 2015 to 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Keywords: AHA Scientific Statements; blood cholesterol; cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis; cholesterol, LDL; dietary fats; fatty acids, saturated; fatty acids, unsaturated.

© 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The American Heart Association makes every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of an outside relationship or a personal, professional, or business interest of a member of the writing panel. Specifically, all members of the writing group are required to complete and submit a Disclosure Questionnaire showing all such relationships that might be perceived as real or potential conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources