[Less fat or a different fat?]

Abstract

Current dietary advice with a view to avoiding cardiovascular pathology is to replace fatty foodstuffs and those rich in saturated fat and cholesterol by food rich in complex carbohydrates. Although substitution of carbohydrates for fat lowers the blood level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, it also lowers the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, thereby adversely influencing the risk profile for cardiovascular disease. Neither does a low fat diet appear to reduce obesity, another risk factor. A modern advice based on published research reads: obese persons should reduce their intake of saturated and trans-fatty acids by lowering the consumption of dairy fat, meat and hardened oils (bakery products and catering products fried in hardened fats), and in addition should consume less products with added sugars and refined starch. Carbohydrates should be provided by fruits, vegetables, leguminous plants and whole-wheat products. Persons of about the ideal weight should replace saturated and trans-fatty acids in their diet by unsaturated plant oils, and products with refined carbohydrates by fruits, vegetables and whole-wheat products.