Research Focus, The Evidence Behind the Harms of Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
- Alastair Hunt
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The consensus on the long-term health risk of saturated fat and exposure to cholestrol is that they are harmful. When health influencers state that saturated fat and cholesterol are healthy, or do not cause harm, that it's all a big pharma scam, the first question is surely, please show some evidence? In humans. With measurable, hard outcomes.
What does the totality of the evidence show?
Below are three high quality studies that demonstrate the ill effects of both.
As ever, please talk to your doctor or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle, especially if you are under treatment.
On saturated fat...
Steen JP, Klatt KC, Chang Y, Guyatt GH, Zhu H, Swierz MJ, Storman D, Sun M, Zhao Y, Ge L, Thabane L, Ghosh NR, Karam G, Alonso-Coello P, Bala MM, Johnston BC. Effect of Interventions Aimed at Reducing or Modifying Saturated Fat Intake on Cholesterol, Mortality, and Major Cardiovascular Events : A Risk Stratified Systematic Review of Randomized Trials. Ann Intern Med. 2026 Feb;179(2):242-255. doi: 10.7326/ANNALS-25-02229. Epub 2025 Dec 16. PMID: 41397264.
Hooper L, Martin N, Jimoh OF, Kirk C, Foster E, Abdelhamid AS. Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Aug 21;8(8):CD011737. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011737.pub3. PMID: 32827219; PMCID: PMC8092457.
And the largest study ever on cholesterol...
Ference BA, Ginsberg HN, Graham I, Ray KK, Packard CJ, Bruckert E, Hegele RA, Krauss RM, Raal FJ, Schunkert H, Watts GF, Borén J, Fazio S, Horton JD, Masana L, Nicholls SJ, Nordestgaard BG, van de Sluis B, Taskinen MR, Tokgözoglu L, Landmesser U, Laufs U, Wiklund O, Stock JK, Chapman MJ, Catapano AL. Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel. Eur Heart J. 2017 Aug 21;38(32):2459-2472. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx144. PMID: 28444290; PMCID: PMC5837225.
Final Thoughts
These studies show specifics. To refute them - and science should be questioned as part of the process - where is the data?
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Alastair
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