SOME FATS GOOD FOR HEART, WEIGHT

All saturated fats don't raise

cholesterol level, says study

.

Washington: Doctors have for long said that saturated fat raises cholesterol levels and causes heart disease. Now, a new study suggests not all saturated fats cause weight gain and cardiovascular disease.

            "Saturated fat is not the artery clogging killer we think it is, according to a recent study by Harvard University. However it's not completely off the hook," said Deakin University's nutrition expert Dr David Cameron-Smith .

           "Saturated fat is not just one fat, we know that different types of saturated fat vary from the harmless to those that are dangerous to heart health. The real question is identifying what saturated fats are dangerous by following different types of fat from food into our blood and then into the fat storage deposits of our body" he said. "The effect of full fat dairy foods on health is as much of a mystery today as it was several decades ago. Our study for the first time tracks the fats once eaten through the blood and into fat cells." Camero-Smith said.

        A refreshing insight from the study is that dairy fats are not easily digested and the impact on blood fats is far less than might be expected. "Less at, particularly the shorter saturated fats , arriving in the blood is great news for both heart disease and weight gain. We think that this reduces the storage of these dangerous types of fats and is beneficial for many aspects of health, including heart disease." Cameron-Smith said.