In postmenopausal women, a greater saturated fat intake is associated with less heart disease, whereas a low saturated fat intake is associated with the biggest increase in blocked arteries

This post includes a summary of a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 5, 1175-1184, November 2004

Study title and authors:
Dietary fats, carbohydrate, and progression of coronary atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women
Dariush Mozaffarian, Eric B Rimm and David M Herrington
From the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston (DM and EBR)

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/5/1175?ijkey=e4610ec5427b8118b39ec347e078d34a367efd11&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

The objective of the study was to investigate associations between dietary fat and carbohydrate and the amount of blockage in the arteries among postmenopausal women.

2,243 coronary artery diameters were measured over 3.1 years in 235 postmenopausal women with established coronary heart disease.

The study found:
(a) Those with the highest saturated fat intake had no change in their arteries.
(b) Those with the lowest saturated fat intake had the biggest increase in blockages in their arteries.
(c) Higher carbohydrate consumption was associated with an increase in blocked arteries.
(d) Polyunsaturated fat consumption was associated with an increase in blocked arteries, when it replaced other fats in the diet.

 

 

Mozaffarian found in postmenopausal women, a greater saturated fat intake is associated with less progression of heart disease, whereas those with the lowest saturated fat intake had the biggest increase in blockages in their arteries.