Just to Be Clear, Saturated Fat Is Not Good for Heart Health

A presidential advisory from the American Heart Association released in June concluded strongly that lowering intake of saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fats—especially polyunsaturated ones—reduces cardiovascular disease rates. Studies indicate that this change would lower CVD rates by 30%, similar to the drop achieved by ubiquitous statin medications. Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats lowers levels of “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides. Fat composition of commonly used oils is shown in the chart.