Getting fats from plants versus animals increases your life span: Study

A study of more than 400,000 people followed for up to 24 years found that those who got their dietary fat from plants and animals were less likely to die during the study period.

The benefits of plant-based fats included a reduced risk of death from heart disease, research has shown.

On the other hand, the study “provides evidence that a diet high in animal fat, including milk and eggs, is associated with higher risks of overall mortality and cardiovascular disease,” it concluded. that the group led by Dr. Demetrius Albanes, of the US National Cancer Institute. .

As researchers have noted, the composition of fats found in plant sources—grains, vegetables, beans, or nuts—is very different from that of animal sources.

“Plant-based fats are known for their high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids [MUFAs] and polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFAs]whereas animal fats are characterized by a high proportion of saturated fatty acids [SFAs],” the team explained.

The body needs fat to survive, but the US dietary guidelines say cutting back on saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fats is a healthy step.

How would that help people in the long run? To find out, Albanes’ team looked at diet and health data collected from 1995 to 2019 as part of the National Institutes of Health’s AARP Diet and Health Study.

The analysis included data on 407,531 adults who were at least 61 years of age at study entry.

People were divided into five “quintiles” – from the top 20% who consumed the most plant-based dietary fat each day, to the bottom 20% who consumed the most the lowest (even more than animal fat).

During the study period, more than 185,000 participants died, including 58,500 from heart disease.

Compared to people who consumed the least amount of plant-based fat, people who scored the highest in fifths of participants based on their intake of plant-based fat had and a 9% lower chance of death from any cause and a 14. % lower chance of dying from heart disease, specifically, the data showed.

When looking at specific sources of vegetable fat, people who consumed the most fat from vegetable oils had a 12% lower risk of death and a 15% lower risk of death. of the heart, the lesson found.

Fat from the diet was also strongly associated with a reduced risk of all causes and cardiovascular disease, Albanes’ team reported.

Conversely, people who ranked in the highest quintile in terms of animal fat intake faced higher odds of dying during the study.

Compared to people who consumed the least amount of animal fat daily, those who ate the most were 16% less likely to die from any cause and 14% less likely to die they are at risk of dying from heart disease.

The trend wasn’t just about meat fat: Disease was also higher in people who ate more fat from milk or eggs on a daily basis, the team noted.

The study was published on Aug. 12 in the newspaper JAMA Internal Medicine.

So, what if someone decides to switch from meat, dairy and eggs to veggies, whole grains and dairy? The researchers read the benefit.

“The replacement is 5% of the energy [intake] from animal fat with 5% energy from vegetable fat, mainly from grain fat or vegetable oil, was associated with a lower risk of death: 4% to 24% of overall mortality, and a 5% to 30% reduction in cardiovascular disease. Albanes group estimated.

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