Saturated fat is bad for you beyond the number of calories you get from it.
This appears to be an unsubstantiated claim, one that the study cited by the article is trying to dispel.
This appears to be an unsubstantiated claim, one that the study cited by the article is trying to dispel.
Saturated Fat and Health: a Brief Literature Review, Part I http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/10/saturated-fat-...
and
Saturated Fat and Health: a Brief Literature Review, Part II http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/10/saturated-fat-...
Large scale epidemiological studies may have problems but they are enough to tip the burden of proof towards those who would disagree with them. It is certainly better than relying on some notions of the diet that our primitive ancestors may have had - especially considering that our current circumstances are very different and our life spans are already greater. To me this is a case of naturalistic fallacy.
No! Other things are often highly correlated with diet, and has massive effects on cardiovascular health (exercise in particular). Only randomized controlled dietary trials can be trusted for predictive power.
The actual paper is "under embargo", so I have no idea if it actually says this or not. YMMV.
In any case, not all saturated fat is equal. Not all polyunsaturated fat is equal, either. For example, I'd bet it would make a big difference whether the dairy fat was from homogenized milk or some other form (cheese, yogurt) that was not homogenized. It usually doesn't seem to even occur to the authors of studies that such details might make any difference at all.