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 Among more than four thousand 60-year-old men and women, those with
the highest blood levels of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), which come
from fish and plants, were significantly less likely to die from
heart disease or any cause over about 15 years than those with the
lowest levels.
“The study supports current dietary guidelines that advise having
sufficient intake of both fish and vegetable oils in a heart-healthy
diet,” senior study author Dr. Ulf Riserus, a nutrition researcher
at Uppsala University in Sweden, said by email.
Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the “good” kind that
can promote healthy cholesterol levels, especially when used in
place of saturated and trans fats, the “bad” actors.
These good fats are found in fish such as salmon, trout and herring,
as well as in avocados, olives, walnuts and liquid vegetable oils
such as soybean, corn, safflower, canola, olive and sunflower.
According to current dietary guidelines, most adults should get no
more than 20 to 35 percent of daily calories from fats. Most of this
should come from good fats, with no more than 10 percent from
saturated fats and as little trans fat as possible.
Riserus and colleagues note in the American Heart Association
journal Circulation that current evidence suggests the types of fats
people consume may be more important than the quantity in affecting
the fatty acids circulating in the blood stream as well as
cardiovascular risk.
They tested for levels of different types of fats in 2,193 Swedish
women and 2,039 men, then followed half of the participants for at
least 14.5 years.
During the study, 265 men and 191 women died. In addition, 294 men
and 190 women had cardiovascular events such as heart attacks.
Higher circulating levels of one of the fatty acids found in
vegetable oils – known as linoleic acid (LA) - were linked to a 27
percent reduction in the likelihood of death during the study among
the men, but not the women.
For both men and women, two fatty acids found in fish – EPA and DHA
- were associated with roughly 20 percent lower odds of death.
One limitation of the study, the researchers acknowledge, is that
the blood test for fats was only done a single time. In addition,
the limited number of deaths from cardiovascular disease make it
difficult to draw conclusions on the impact of fats, particularly
when examined in men and women separately.
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The authors also found to their surprise that women with the highest
levels of ALA had 72 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease
compared to women with the lowest levels. But since that result
isn’t in line with other studies, they speculate it doesn’t mean ALA
increases heart risk – rather it could reflect high consumption of
margarine, low muscle mass, or other health conditions, they write.
“It is not so clear why there were differences between men and women
but it could simply be due to sample size differences and the
differences in baseline risk for men and women,” Dr. Edmond
Kabagambe, an epidemiology researcher at Vanderbilt University
School of Medicine who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
The take-home message is one that people hear all the time: eat more
plants and fewer animals, Samantha Heller, a nutritionist at New
York University's Center for Musculoskeletal Care and Sports
Performance who wasn't involved in the study, said by email.
“There is no one miracle food that will launch us into immortality,”
Heller said. “The lifestyle as a whole must be considered, including
daily physical activity and eating less (of) animal foods like meat,
cheese and butter. It is easiest to encourage people to eat a
variety of plant foods such as salads, trail mix, roasted
vegetables, pasta primavera, almond butter and banana sandwiches,
lentil soup, or edamame hummus.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1KcyZki Circulation, online June 17, 2015.
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