Doubling the share of saturated fats in the diets of people with obesity improved their blood lipid profile and did not increase artery calcification over two years of observation in Bergen, infohub.kz reports.
A new study by Norwegian researchers at the University of Bergen has shown that a diet high in saturated fats combined with a sharp reduction in carbohydrates may have a favorable effect on key indicators of heart and vascular health. The results of a secondary analysis of the randomized controlled CARBFUNC trial were published in the peer-reviewed journal eBioMedicine.
The clinical experiment involved 193 adult volunteers with obesity from the Bergen region in western Norway. Participants were divided into three groups with different diets and followed for two years. The first group followed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet in which about one-third of daily calories came from saturated fats, compared with a recommended intake of less than 10 percent. The other two groups followed standard dietary guidelines emphasizing carbohydrates from whole-grain or refined sources. Daily caloric intake was about 2,500 kcal for men and 2,000 kcal for women, with equal amounts of protein and vegetables.
At the end of the observation period, participants on the high-fat diet saw their triglyceride levels fall by 20–35 percent, while their levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol rose by 5–18 percent. Apolipoprotein B (apoB), considered the main marker of cardiovascular risk, showed no significant change. Although LDL cholesterol rose slightly (by 5–10 percent), this was due entirely to large, less dense particles that are not associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis.
"The results show how important it is to assess comprehensive health indicators rather than an isolated marker such as LDL," emphasized Katrin Lødderud, the study's first author.
Computed tomography of the coronary arteries at 12 months also found no differences in calcium deposition between the groups. According to project leader Professor Simon Dankel, the data call into question the claim that saturated fats are unconditionally harmful to vascular health.