Unsaturated Vegetable Fat Lower Risk of Heart Disease

Fat has always been a scapegoat of various diseases experienced by humans. In fact, fat is needed, even has the benefit of lowering the risk of heart disease that can cause death.

The study, presented at the American Heart Association in New Orleans, says vegetable unsaturated fats can make the risk of death lower. Fat derived from vegetable oils, avocados, peanuts and seeds will be better than unsaturated fats from animals.

"We have observed the beneficial role of monounsaturated fats for the prevention of cardiovascular mortality and the totality of plant foods is the main source," said fellow researchers at the nutrition department at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Marta Guasch-Ferre, who co-authored the paper with Dr. Geng Zong and Dr. Qi Sun was quoted from TIME, Thursday (22/3).

In drawing these conclusions, researchers look for patterns in data eating nearly 100 thousand people. Researchers follow participants for about 22 years and they must complete a questionnaire about food every four years.

During the decades of follow-up, more than 20,600 people died, about 4,500 such deaths due to heart disease. People who consume lots of vegetable fats have a 16 percent lower risk of death compared to those with lower intakes. While those who consume a lot of animal fat have a 21 percent higher risk, compared with those who do not eat much of this food.

"Recently, dietary recommendations have shifted toward diet including higher plant-based foods than animal-based foods," Guasch-Ferre said.

Guasch-Ferre says, the difference between animal and vegetable fats can be made possible because of other nutrients found. Typically, vegetable-unsaturated fats will be rich in vitamins, polyphenols, and polyunsaturated fats that are good for the heart, while animal-rich fats often contain lots of saturated fat and cholesterol that are not good for the heart.