Middle-aged men and women who consume the most saturated fat live longer and have a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases

This study was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine 2005 Aug;258(2):153-65

 

Study title and authors:

Dietary fat intake and early mortality patterns--data from The Malmö Diet and Cancer Study.

Leosdottir M, Nilsson PM, Nilsson JA, Månsson H, Berglund G.

Department of Medicine, Lund University, University Hospital (UMAS), Malmö, Sweden. margret.leosdottir@med.lu.se

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16018792

This study examined the association of fat consumption with death rates. The study included 28,098 middle-aged individuals who were followed for an average of 6.6 years.

The study found:
(a) Women who consumed the most saturated fat had an 11% reduced risk of death compared to women who consumed the least saturated fat.
(b) Men who consumed the most saturated fat had a 9% reduced risk of death compared to men who consumed the least saturated fat.
(c) Women who consumed the most saturated fat had a 45% reduced risk of a cardiovascular disease death compared to women who consumed the least saturated fat.
(d) Men who consumed the most saturated fat had a 6% reduced risk of a cardiovascular disease death compared to men who consumed the least saturated fat.

The data from the study reveals that middle-aged men and women who consume the most saturated fat live longer and have a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases.

Saturated fat consumption is associated with a reduced risk of stroke

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 1997 Dec 24-31;278(24):2145-50

Study title and authors:

Inverse association of dietary fat with development of ischemic stroke in men.
Gillman MW, Cupples LA, Millen BE, Ellison RC, Wolf PA.
Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9417007

 

The objective of the study was to examine the association of stroke incidence with the intake of fat and type of fat among middle-aged men. The study included 832 men, aged 45 to 65 years who were followed for 20 years.

 

The study found:

(a) For every 3% increase in fat consumption the men had a 15% reduced risk of stroke.

(b) For every 1% increase in saturated fat consumption the men had a 9% reduced risk of stroke.

 

The study reveals that total fat and saturated fat consumption are associated with a reduced risk of stroke in men.

High saturated fat diets reduce the risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage

This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology 2003 Jan 1;157(1):32-9

Study title and authors:

Fat and protein intakes and risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage among middle-aged Japanese.

Iso H, Sato S, Kitamura A, Naito Y, Shimamoto T, Komachi Y.

Department of Public Health Medicine, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki-ken, Japan. fvgh5640@mb.infoweb.ne.jp

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12505888

The study examined the relationship between intakes of saturated fat and animal protein and the risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage. (An intraparenchymal hemorrhage is a type of stroke where bleeding occurs within the brain tissue). The study lasted for 14 years and included 4,775 participants aged 40-69 years.

The study found:
(a) Those who consumed the most fat had a 54% reduced risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage compared to those who consumed the least fat.
(b) Those who consumed the most saturated fat had a 70% reduced risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage compared to those who consumed the least saturated fat.
(c) Those who consumed the most cholesterol had a 29% reduced risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage compared to those who consumed the least cholesterol.
(d) Those who consumed the most animal protein had a 40% reduced risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage compared to those who consumed the least animal protein.

The results of the study show that a high consumption of saturated fat and foods of animal origin reduce the risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage.