Saturated Fat May Not Contribute to Heart Disease

Doctors and health experts have stressed the importance of maintaining a diet that's low in saturated fat for decades. In fact, the American Heart Association (AHA) currently recommends that adults receive just 5-6% of their daily caloric intake from saturated fats. So, what's the big deal with saturated fats and why should you avoid them?

The general conses in the medical community has been that diets high in saturated fat yield a greater risk of heart disease. Doctors believe that saturated fat raises levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), which in turn increases the risk of heart disease. And with heart disease being the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, this is a something that American needs to be aware of.

However, there's new evidence that suggests saturated fat may NOT contribute to heart disease. This new research goes against the traditional medical belief. Researchers from the University of Texas compared skin milk to full fat milk to see what difference (if any) it made in terms of heart health. They found that people who drink whole milk are not at a higher risk of heart disease than people who drink skim or low fat milk. Furthermore, there's no evidence indicating that skim or law fat milk will help people lose weight more so than full fat milk.

“In terms of obesity, we found no support for the notion that low-fat dairy is healthier,” said Dr. Mario Kratz, the study's lead author. “None of the research suggested low-fat dairy is better."

The study's researchers went on to say that drinking whole, full fat milk may actually be healthier than drinking skin milk.

So, what should you take away from these findings? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is constantly revising its dietary recommendations. Just because it recommends and advises against a certain nutrient one year doesn't necessarily mean that it will do the same the following year. It's important for individuals to stay updated on the current recommendations and not follow the same advice that was given ten plus years ago. This latest research indicates that saturated fat -- which many people have viewed as being unhealthy for decades -- may not contribute to heart disease.