Saturated fats affect overall life expectancy

Different types of fat have different effects on our body
Diet has a big impact on our health. Some foods contain such unhealthy ingredients that regular consumption can seriously affect our life expectancy. For example, consuming saturated fat leads to an increased risk of dying earlier in life, researchers now found.

There have been contradictory statements for quite some time as to whether butter and especially the saturated fatty acids it contains are unhealthy for the human body. US scientists from the acclaimed Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health have now discovered in an investigation that saturated fat reduces the life expectancy of consumers. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "JAMA Internal Medicine".

Saturated fatty acids are unhealthy and endanger our life expectancy. A change in diet can thus help many people enjoy their lives longer. (Image: fahrwasser / fotolia.com)

New study examines the data of about 126,000 subjects
For their new study, the researchers analyzed data from about 126,000 people. These were monitored over a period of three decades to assess the impact of their diet on human health and lifespan, say the experts. Researchers say the new study is the most detailed study yet of the effects of different types of fats on our health.

Older and new study results contradict each other
The results of the new study are at odds with those of an older study by the UK National Obesity Forum. This came to the conclusion that people can eat more fat, but should refrain from carbohydrates. However, Public Health England's dietary guidelines state that people should eat less butter and red meat, the researchers report.

Trans fat from butter and red meat lead to higher mortality rates
The study, now published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that eating so-called trans fats and saturated fats - including butter and red meat - leads to higher mortality rates compared to the same number of carbohydrate calories. This is quite questionable, since previous studies had already found that unhealthy trans fatty acids are in many foods.

Risk for premature death significantly reducible
The death rates are reduced by 11 to 19 percent, when unhealthy fats from butter, lard and red meat are replaced by unsaturated fats from olive oil, rapeseed oil and soybean oil, say the experts. If people replace only five percent of their calories from saturated fats (about 15 grams) with the same amount of unsaturated fat, their risk of premature death will decrease by about 27 percent.

Nutritional change also reduces neurodegenerative diseases
Unsaturated fatty acids have not only reduced the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and cancer, but also neurodegenerative diseases. These include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and some respiratory diseases, the scientists explain. Especially in the field of cardiovascular diseases, the current results confirm the results of older studies, which have already shown that polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids significantly reduce our risk of acute heart attacks.

Replace saturated fats and trans fats with unsaturated fats
There has been great confusion among both the biomedical and the general public about the health effects that certain types of fat have on our bodies, said lead author Dong Wang of the Institute of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. The results of the study show important benefits of unsaturated fats, especially when replacing saturated fats and so-called trans fats.

A Mediterranean diet can protect our health
These new results are in line with current public health recommendations in the UK. Other countries, for example, support the concept of a healthy Mediterranean diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids from plants, fish and olive oil, say the doctors. Nutrition advice in a number of recent books and magazines has recently advised people to substitute saturated fats from animal products for the consumption of vegetable oils and other products rich in unsaturated fatty acids. However, these advices have now proved wrong, Wang says. The new results should now be used to adjust the dietary recommendations so that people do not make mistakes in their diets that later ruin their health. (As)