By: Thomas Pickering, MD, DPhil, FRCP, Director of Integrative and Behavioral Cardiology Program
of the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

The traditional view is that diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol result in high blood cholesterol levels, and hence increase the risk of heart disease. This study made a detailed dietary analysis in 43,757 men in 1986, of whom, 734 subsequently had a heart attack.

Although it was confirmed that diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, this relationship appeared to be largely due to the fact that such diets are also low in fiber and other plant food constituents. Of these, the most important was linolenic acid (an N-3 or omega-3 fatty acid found in many plants). Diets that were high in linolenic acid were associated with a reduced risk of heart disease independently of other dietary factors.

Doctor's comments

The message of this important study is that the typical high-fat Western diet is bad not only because of its saturated-fat content, but also because it is low in fruits and vegetables, which are the principal sources of fiber and linolenic acid. Two traditional diets that are high in fiber and linolenic acid are the Mediterranean and Japanese diets, both of which are associated with a low incidence of heart disease. Increasing your fiber intake may be just as important as lowering your fat intake.

Where it was published