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Saturated fat heart disease 'myth'
The risk from saturated fat in foods such as butter, cakes and fatty meat is being overstated and demonised, according to a cardiologist.
Dr Aseem Malhotra said there was too much focus on the fat with other factors such as sugar often overlooked.
It is time to "bust the myth of the role of saturated fat in heart disease", he writes in an opinion piece in the British Medical Journal.
But the British Heart Foundation said there was conflicting evidence.
It added reducing cholesterol through drugs or other means does lower heart risk.
Studies on the link between diet and disease have led to dietary advice and guidelines on how much saturated fat, particularly cholesterol, it is healthy to eat.
Millions of people in the UK have been prescribed statins to reduce cholesterol levels.
Dr Malhotra, a cardiology registrar at Croydon University Hospital, London, says the "mantra that saturated fat must be removed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease has dominated dietary advice and guidelines for almost four decades".
Read more here -- > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24625808
Dr Aseem Malhotra said there was too much focus on the fat with other factors such as sugar often overlooked.
It is time to "bust the myth of the role of saturated fat in heart disease", he writes in an opinion piece in the British Medical Journal.
But the British Heart Foundation said there was conflicting evidence.
It added reducing cholesterol through drugs or other means does lower heart risk.
Studies on the link between diet and disease have led to dietary advice and guidelines on how much saturated fat, particularly cholesterol, it is healthy to eat.
Millions of people in the UK have been prescribed statins to reduce cholesterol levels.
Dr Malhotra, a cardiology registrar at Croydon University Hospital, London, says the "mantra that saturated fat must be removed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease has dominated dietary advice and guidelines for almost four decades".
Read more here -- > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24625808
