Here comes a new and baffling study on the question of the saturated fat = cholesterol equation . Apparently a fat-based diet does not raise cholesterol, as previous research has always recommended and established. How is it possible? Obviously , an introduction of fatty foods does not necessarily correspond to an increase in blood fats when we do not also increase carbohydrates in the diet. Put simply, the sum of lipids and carbohydrates would be more dangerous than a diet based only on carbohydrates or only fat. According to one of the authors of the study, prof. Jeff Volek, these findings overturn the old school demonizing saturated fat and increase our knowledge of why a high-fat diet does not lead to disease. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE , overturns the notion that the main source of nutrients must come from carbohydrates, and the least from fats.
The study involved sixteen adults by making them do six diets for three weeks each, each with 2500 calories and 130 grams of protein per day.. In the study, the diets started with a high level of fat, and then gradually reduced the percentage of total fat and saturated fat in favor of carbohydrates. Therefore the first diets had low carbohydrate intake and high fat intake: the later ones the opposite . On the last diet, participants ate 55 percent carbohydrates.

Each of the participants suffered from metabolic syndrome, that is, had at least three of the following conditions: blood cholesterol, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, hypertension and obesity. Apparently in the early diets, the high-fat diets, cholesterol and triglycerides decreased in all participants, while in the last few weeks an increase in the carbohydrate quota corresponded to an increase in palmitoleic acid in the participants’ blood, and a worsening of their state of health. The study authors are convinced that being short-term (a few months in total), the study is not scientifically objectiveBut the point is the doubts it raises: Eating fat is not automatically synonymous with getting fat or having more fat in the blood, while more sugar in the body is converted into fat instead. And they too are convinced of it.