Individuals with a family history of high cholesterol in the blood—familial hypercholesterolemia—have always been advised to minimise their consumption of saturated fats to lower cholesterol and reduce their risks of heart disease. Organisations, including the American Heart Association, have suggested they avoid eating food from animal sources, such as meat, eggs and cheese and to avoid coconut oil.
A new study published in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine found no evidence to support those claims. An international team of experts on heart disease and diet, including five cardiologists—who reviewed dietary guidelines for people with familial hypercholesterolemia—say they couldn't find any justification for health experts to recommend a low-saturated fat diet.
Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder that causes people to have cholesterol levels two to four times higher than the average person. Hypercholesterolemia is a form of hyperlipidemia, high blood lipids and elevated levels of lipoproteins in the blood.
"For the past 80 years, people with familial hypercholesterolemia have been told to lower their cholesterol with a low-saturated fat diet," said lead author David Diamond, professor and heart disease researcher at the University of South Florida.
"Our study showed that a more 'heart healthy' diet is one low in sugar, not saturated fat."
Diamond and his co-authors say following a low-carb diet is most effective for people at increased risk of heart disease, such as those who are overweight, hypertensive and diabetic. Their findings are consistent with another paper recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which provided strong evidence that food that raises blood sugar, such as bread, potatoes and sweets, should be minimised, rather than tropical oils and animal-based food.
High-fat cuts of meat, coconut oil and palm oil and dairy products such as cheese, ice-cream and butter contain high levels of saturated fat. Olives and olive oil, peanut butter and peanut oil, sunflower oil, avocados and avocado oil, fatty fish—such as salmon and mackerel—nuts and seeds, such as almonds, peanuts, cashews, and sesame seeds are among the dietary sources of unsaturated fats.
