In Dallas, an American Heart Association advisory reports that replacing saturated fat with healthier fat may lower cholesterol as well as drugs. Several studies found that coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol in the same way as other saturated fats found in butter, beef fat and palm oil.
“We want to set the record straight on why well-conducted scientific research overwhelmingly supports limiting saturated fat in the diet to prevent diseases of the heart and blood vessels,” said Frank Sacks, M.D., lead author of the advisory and professor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. “Saturated fat increases LDL – bad cholesterol – which is a major cause of artery-clogging plaque and cardiovascular disease.”
The advisory reports that lowered intake of dietary saturated fat and replacement with polyunsaturated vegetable oil reduced cardiovascular disease by approximately 30 percent – similar to cholesterol-lowering drugs, known as statins.