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Fat in animal products: facts and perceptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

M. J. Gibney
M. J. Gibney
Affiliation:
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Medical School, St James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
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Abstract

Early research in man at the end of the fifties and beginning of the sixties indicated that the composition of dietary fat influenced plasma cholesterol levels. In effect this research showed that plasma cholesterol was raised by saturated fatty acids (SFA), was lowered by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and was not influenced by monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). Within the SFA it was also observed that the greater the chain length, the lesser the cholesterol raising effect. A quantitative relationship between the change in blood cholesterol (ΔC) resultant from changes in the percentage energy from SFA (ΔS) and PUFA (ΔP) was established as ΔC = 1.3 (2ΔS − ΔP). For the ensuing tivo decades this association dominated nutrition education programmes with the message that ‘saturates or animal fats raise blood cholesterol and polyunsaturates or vegetable oils lower blood cholesterol’.

In the 1980s it became evident that the two main fractions of blood cholesterol yielded different risks for coronary heart disease. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol raised the risk and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol lowered the risk. Earlier work on the qualitative effect of dietary fat was now repeated to examine the direction of change of the LDL and HDL subfractions of plasma cholesterol. Broadly speaking these data showed that SFA raised LDL cholesterol and had little effect on HDL cholesterol. PUFA lowered LDL cholesterol but when the intake was high, also lowered HDL cholesterol. Whilst this summarizes events leading up to current thinking on dietary fats and blood cholesterol, it is likely in the near future to be linked to another area of research involving the antioxidant vitamins and pro-vitamins (vitamin E, vitamin C and β-carotene). A growing body of data in the literature indicates a protective effect of antioxidant vitamins in epidemiological trials.

Notwithstanding these findings, it is likely that dietary advice will continue to seek a lowering of SFA intake. PUFA intake will be capped and MUFA intake will be a more acceptable alternative. However, with increasing emphasis on antioxidant vitamin status, such advice is likely to be coupled with advice on increased consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Type
Research Article
Information
BSAP Occasional Publication , Volume 17: Safety and Quality of Food from Animals , January 1993 , pp. 57 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Production 1993

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