In recent decades, excessive consumption of cholesterol and even more saturated fat has been identified as one of the main cardiovascular risk factors, so much so that today there is a widespread consensus in the scientific community on the need to limit their dietary intake, within a maximum about 200mg daily for cholesterol and 10% of total calories for saturated fats.
However, in recent literature there is no lack of studies with strongly contrasting results, so much so that some authors go so far as to state that there is no significant evidence to recommend a diet low in saturated fat (and / or high in polyunsaturated fat).
In other words, reducing saturated fats in the diet (and / or increasing the intake of polyunsaturated fats) would not help reduce the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases.
The bibliographic references, on one side and the other, are very numerous and easy to access for those wishing to deepen. First of all, however, it is important to understand how the intake of saturated fat is only one of the elements that contribute to defining the cardiovascular risk associated with eating habits. In turn, diet is just one of the many factors that affect overall cardiovascular risk. It is therefore clear that this intertwining of various risk factors can lead to conflicting results in various epidemiological studies.
Therefore, beyond saturated fats and cholesterol, in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases it is very important that the diet is:
- low in sugar (with a low glycemic index), rich in soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, normocaloric or (better) moderately low-calorie, free of junk foods and hydrogenated fats;
- inserted in a general context of prevention that includes the control of body weight, a program of regular physical activity, abstention from smoking, moderation of alcohol consumption and optimal management of daily stress.
