A major global study of 135,000 people in 18 countries around the world says moderate consumption of fat, fruits and vegetables and avoidance of high carbohydrate intake is associated with a lower risk of death – results that are contrary to popular belief about fat. “Global dietary guidelines should be reconsidered in light of these findings,” say the researchers in the study published in the journal The Lancet.
“Our findings do not support the current recommendations to limit total fat intake to less than 30 percent of energy. Individuals with high carbohydrate intake might benefit from a reduction in carbohydrate intake and increase in the consumption of fats,” said a CBC excerpt from the study.
The lowest risk of death was for people who consume three to four servings a day – 375-500 grams or 13-18 ounces – of fruits, vegetables and legumes a day; there was little benefit from eating more of those foods. “As well, contrary to popular belief, consuming a higher amount of fat (about 35 percent of energy) is associated with a lower risk of death compared to lower intakes,” said McMaster University, of Canada, one of the lead institutions in the research. “A diet high in high in carbohydrates (of more than 60 percent of energy) is related to higher mortality,” but not the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Mahshid Dehghan, the lead author of the study, said it questions conventional beliefs about dietary fats and health. Those guidelines were developed during a period when fat constituted 40-45 percent of the calories in some Western diets and saturated fat was more than 20 percent of calories. Now, fat is 31 percent and saturated fat is 11 percent of the diet in North America and Europe. For years, the goal behind lower consumption of saturated fats was lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
“A decrease in fat intake automatically led to an increase in carbohydrate consumption and our findings may explain why certain populations such as South Asians, who do not consume much fat but consume a lot of carbohydrates, have higher mortality rates,” said Dehghn.
While the results appear surprising to the lay audience, they are consistent with several trials and studies in Western countries, said McMaster University. The data for the study came from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study which followed more than 135,000 people from 18 low-income, middle-income and high-income countries. The study asked people about their diet and followed them for an average of seven and half years.
The London Telegraph screamed the results as, “Low-fat diet could kill you, major study shows.” The Telegraph said the study showed “low-fat diets could raise the risk of early death by almost one quarter.”