Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Adv Nutr. 2013 May 1;4(3):294-302. doi: 10.3945/an.113.003657.
Although early studies showed that saturated fat diets with very low levels of PUFAs increase serum cholesterol, whereas other studies showed high serum cholesterol increased the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), the evidence of dietary saturated fats increasing CAD or causing premature death was weak. Over the years, data revealed that dietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are not associated with CAD and other adverse health effects or at worst are weakly associated in some analyses when other contributing factors may be overlooked. Several recent analyses indicate that SFAs, particularly in dairy products and coconut oil, can improve health. The evidence of ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) promoting inflammation and augmenting many diseases continues to grow, whereas ω3 PUFAs seem to counter these adverse effects. The replacement of saturated fats in the diet with carbohydrates, especially sugars, has resulted in increased obesity and its associated health complications. Well-established mechanisms have been proposed for the adverse health effects of some alternative or replacement nutrients, such as simple carbohydrates and PUFAs. The focus on dietary manipulation of serum cholesterol may be moot in view of numerous other factors that increase the risk of heart disease. The adverse health effects that have been associated with saturated fats in the past are most likely due to factors other than SFAs, which are discussed here. This review calls for a rational reevaluation of existing dietary recommendations that focus on minimizing dietary SFAs, for which mechanisms for adverse health effects are lacking.
尽管早期的研究表明，饱和脂肪饮食中 PUFAs 含量非常低会增加血清胆固醇，而其他研究表明高血清胆固醇会增加患冠心病（CAD）的风险，但饮食中饱和脂肪增加 CAD 或导致早逝的证据是薄弱的。多年来，数据显示饮食中的饱和脂肪酸（SFAs）与 CAD 和其他不良健康影响无关，或者在其他因素可能被忽视的某些分析中，与 CAD 和其他不良健康影响的关联是最弱的。最近的几项分析表明，SFAs，特别是乳制品和椰子油中的 SFAs，可以改善健康。ω6 多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFAs）促进炎症和加剧许多疾病的证据不断增加，而 ω3 PUFAs 似乎可以抵消这些不利影响。用碳水化合物，特别是糖，代替饮食中的饱和脂肪，导致肥胖及其相关的健康并发症增加。已经提出了一些替代或替代营养素（如简单碳水化合物和 PUFAs）对健康的不良影响的既定机制。鉴于增加心脏病风险的许多其他因素，饮食中对血清胆固醇的操纵的关注可能是没有意义的。过去与饱和脂肪相关的不良健康影响很可能是由于除 SFAs 之外的其他因素造成的，本文将对此进行讨论。这篇综述呼吁对现有的饮食建议进行理性重新评估，这些建议侧重于尽量减少饮食中的 SFAs，而这些建议缺乏不良健康影响的机制。
