The debate over the role saturated fats play in the development of heart disease has permeated academia, government, industry, and even pop culture, according to a January 20, 2021 Men’s Health article.
The article prominently featured Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who discussed his research, the challenges of conducting large-scale and rigorous nutrition studies, and his critics. Willett noted that his studies have consistently shown that when it comes to heart disease, saturated fats—which are found primarily in meat and dairy products—aren’t necessarily bad but they’re not necessarily good. “It’s really about comparison,” he said. “If you compare saturated fat to trans fats, then saturated fat looks good. But if you compare it to unsaturated fats, then saturated fat looks bad.”
Read the Men’s Health article: Inside the Knockdown, Drag-Out War on Saturated Fat