Saturated Fat And Cardiovascular Disease: Good News For Fast Food Lovers

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satrated food
Saturated food
For many decades saturated fat has been perceived as the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is assumed that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol level which is responsible for atherosclerosis and stroke. Consequently, consumers are often advised to avoid food high in saturated fat such as cheese and butter and encouraged to consume food low in saturated fat such as oily fish and nuts. However, consumers who may have been heeding to this advice will be shocked to learn that there is no association between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease. That is, consuming fast food such as chicken burger or chicken nuggets regularly cannot increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.

This verdict comes from researchers from the University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University of Bristol, Erasmus University Medical Centre and Harvard School of Public Health. These researchers analysed Meta data (data consisting of many data) from 72 studies involving 600,000 participants in 18 countries to establish whether consuming saturated fat increases people’s risk of cardiovascular disease. The participants consisted of both individuals who had consumed food high in saturated fat and those who had consumed food low in saturated fat for a long period of time. The analysis showed that the risk for cardiovascular disease was similar in both groups. That is, consuming food high in saturated fat did not put consumers at greater risk of cardiovascular disease than consuming food low in saturated fat.

This is good news for fast food restaurants. Up until now, fast food restaurants such as McDonalds and KFC have been at the receiving end of health campaigners. These health campaigners have been criticising these businesses for contributing to societal health problems by selling junk food full of saturated fat to consumers. Following this revelation that there is no link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease, however, the campaigners will have fewer ammunitions to use against the fast food industry.

While it may be good news for fast food industry, this revelation that there is no relationship between saturated fat and heart diseases will be bad news for businesses cashing-in from the sales of less saturated products such as omega 3 oil supplements and 75% reduced fat cheese. Surely they will wish that this type of good news had never came.

Scientists who have been working on the relationship between fatty food and heart disease will also be disappointed with this latest news. They must now focus their attention on other possible causes of cardiovascular disease outside of saturated fat. This can include examining the roles played by sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise) and obesity in heart diseases. But can we trust scientists next time they tell us that they have found the culprit for cardiovascular disease? I am not sure.

Having said that there is no link between saturated fat and heart diseases, consumers are warned not to over consume food high in saturated fat such as French fries. Like any other food when consumed in excess, over consumption of fatty food can cause health problems. If you want to consume fast food, do so in moderation. Go on! Enjoy the “Fingers Lickin good”.

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