Dietary Fat Intake and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women

Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets have been widely recommended as a way to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease because populations with low intakes of saturated and total fat tend to be at low risk and because saturated fat increases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. 1 However, low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets also reduce high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and raise fasting levels of triglycerides. 2 Because low levels of HDL cholesterol and high levels of triglycerides independently increase risk, the value of replacing fat in general with carbohydrates has been questioned. 3 Replacing saturated fat and trans unsaturated fat with unhydrogenated unsaturated fats has clear . . .