Saturated fatty acids are not off the hook

doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2015.09.010

Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases

Volume 25, Issue 12, December 2015, Pages 1071-1078

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2015.09.010 Get rights and content

Abstract

A recent meta-analysis by Chowdhury et al. (2014) has disclaimed the association between coronary artery diseases and either circulating blood levels or the intake of total saturated fatty acids (SFA). Scrutiny revealed that two of the eight studies included in the meta-analysis focused on the proportion of pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) and heptadecanoic acid (C17:0) and their impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. These odd-chain fatty acids are markers for milk or ruminant fat intake. Both studies indicated inverse associations between milk-fat intake and first-ever myocardial infarction. Neither of the two studies described the association between total circulating blood SFA on coronary outcomes.

In contrast to the cardioprotective effects of dairy consumption, we expected that an elevated intake of palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) de novo may raise CVD risk. Thus, it is of particular importance to differentiate the effects of individual circulating SFA on cardiovascular outcomes.

Excluding the studies that evaluated the association of fatty acids from milk fat and cardiovascular outcomes revealed a positive association of total SFA blood levels and coronary outcome (RR 1.21, CI 1.04–1.40). Therefore, results obtained from studies of C15:0 and C17:0 cannot be mixed with results from studies of other SFA because of the opposite physiological effects of regular consumption of foods rich in C16:0 and C18:0 compared to high intake of milk or ruminant fat. In our opinion, it is vital to analyze the impact of individual SFA on CVD incidence in order to draw prudent conclusions.

Section snippets

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial support of their work as part of the Competence Cluster of Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health (nutriCARD) which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant number: 01EA1411A).

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Citation Excerpt :
Recent advice from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Vannice and Rasmussen, 2014) confirms that the fatty acid (FA) profile of dairy products needs to be modified towards reduced saturated fatty acid (SFA) and increased unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) content, to promote human health, associated with others lifestyle interaction as highlighted by Ruiz-Núñez et al. (2016) and Dawczynski et al. (2015).
The aim of this research was to study the effects of dietary supplementation on the composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of milk from grazing dairy sheep. Forty-eight lactating Sarda ewes were randomly allocated to four homogeneous groups: PAS – control group grazing for 22 h/d without supplementation; NFS – group supplemented with a cereal based concentrate; SLNA – group supplemented with a concentrate enriched with sunflower seeds (106 g/kg DM); and SALA, group supplemented with a concentrate enriched with linseeds (105 g/kg DM).
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Analyzing mainly results from plasma measurements, the meta-analysis published by Chowdhury et al.4 found an inverse association for C15:0 (RR, 0.94 [CI, 0.67–1.32]) and C17:0 (RR, 0.77 [CI, 0.63–0.93]) with the risk for coronary events. Plasma C15:0 and C17:0 are both markers for milk or ruminant fat intake.40 C15:0 and C17:0 could not be quantified in our study.
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Copyright © 2015 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ViewpointSaturated fatty acids are not off the hook

Abstract

Section snippets

Acknowledgments

Am J Clin Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

J Nutr Biochem

Prog Lipid Res

J Nutr

J Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

J Lipid Res

Am J Clin Nutr

J Nutr

Reduced or modified dietary fat for preventing cardiovascular disease

Cochrane Database Syst Rev

Saturated fat and cardiometabolic risk factors, coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes: a fresh look at the evidence

Lipids

Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PLoS Med

A systematic review of the evidence supporting a causal link between dietary factors and coronary heart disease

Arch Intern Med

Dietary fat and coronary heart disease: summary of evidence from prospective cohort and randomised controlled trials

Ann Nutr Metab

Dietary fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease in men: the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study

Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol

Association of dietary, circulating, and supplement fatty acids with coronary risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ann Intern Med

Medizinsensation – Tierische Fette doch nicht schädlich fürs Herz (‘Medical sensation – animal fat is not bad for the heart’)

Bild Thüringen

Evaluation of under- and overreporting of energy intake in the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Public Health Nutr

Use of recovery biomarkers to calibrate nutrient consumption self-reports in the Women's Health Initiative

Am J Epidemiol

How big is a food portion? A pilot study in Australian families

Health Promot J Austr

sn-position determination of phospholipid-linked fatty acids derived from erythrocytes by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry

Lipids

Viewpoint
Saturated fatty acids are not off the hook