Substituting dietary saturated fats with omega-6 linoleic acid INCREASED deaths by 62% over 5 years

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Saturday, April 16, 2016 11:19 am Email this article

The article was previously published on August 7, 2015.

Men who had experienced a recent coronary event and were told to replace dietary saturated fats (from animal fats, common margarines, and shortenings) with omega-6 polyunsaturated fat linoleic acid (from safflower oil and safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine) were 62% MORE likely to die—1.62 times more likely to die—over the next 5 years compared to men who were not given any dietary advice according to a recent analysis of an old study called The Sydney Diet Heart Study, a randomized controlled trial conducted from 1966 to 1973.

After five years, 17.6% of the men in the intervention group had died versus 11.8% in the control group.

The analysis was done by researchers at the US National Institutes of Health.

Secondary Prevention Trials show Linoleic Acid Associated with 84% GREATER Risk of CHD Death

They also note that secondary prevention trials, where someone has had a heart attack and are trying to prevent a second one, had a 84% GREATER risk of dying from coronary heart disease when replacing saturated fat with vegetable oil rich in linoleic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fat).

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Associated with 21% LOWER risk of CHD Death

The also note that “pooled analysis of the four randomized controlled trials that increased [omega-3 fatty acids] alongside [omega-6 linoleic acid from vegetable oil] showed [a 21%] reduced cardiovascular mortality.”

Subjects: 458 men aged 30-59 years with a recent coronary event.

The study included 458 men aged 30-59 years with a recent coronary event.

Conclusion

Author’s Conclusion

“Advice to substitute polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats is a key component of worldwide dietary guidelines for coronary heart disease risk reduction,” the author’s of the paper concluded.

“However, clinical benefits of the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid, omega 6 linoleic acid, have not been established.

“In this cohort, substituting dietary linoleic acid in place of saturated fats increased the rates of death from all causes, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease.

“An updated meta-analysis of linoleic acid intervention trials showed no evidence of cardiovascular benefit.

“These findings could have important implications for worldwide dietary advice to substitute omega 6 linoleic acid, or polyunsaturated fats in general, for saturated fats.”

Reference

Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Leelarthaepin B, Majchrzak-Hong SF, Faurot KR, Suchindran CM, Ringel A, Davis JM, and Hibbeln JR. Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis. BMJ, 2013; 346: e8707.

http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e8707.long

Author’s Contact Info

Christopher E Ramsden
Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biochemistry
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Heart Disease

• Omega-6 Fatty Acids

• Polyunsaturated Fat

• Saturated Fat