Does dietary fat cause heart disease?

Originally posted September 4, 2009.
September 4, 2009
In the 2001 article “Types of Dietary Fat and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Critical Review,” published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, authors Frank B. Hu et al. knock out nearly every theoretical argument that dietary fat causes heart disease. In his book In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan summarizes the study, writing that “only two studies have ever found ‘a significant positive association between saturated fat intake and risk of coronary heart disease.’” Many more have failed to find any association. As Pollan reports, the authors of the 2001 study found that “there is little direct evidence linking higher egg consumption and increased risk of cardiac heart disease.” My research further indicates that eating locally raised eggs from “real” free-range chickens fed flax seed provides a high dose of omega-3s and is a great protein source. In his excellent Pastured Poultry Profits, grass-fed-industry stalwart Joel Salatin writes that “orange egg yolks and naturally yellow butter reflect high levels of chlorophyll in a diet and low levels of saturated fat.” Joel concludes, “We’ve seen folks reduce cholesterol by eating fresh forage-raised eggs.”