You’ve seen the headlines lately, saying “butter is back” and claiming that saturated fat isn’t the bad actor that nutrition experts have made it out to be. Even the cover of Time Magazine clamored, “Eat Butter. Scientists labeled fat the enemy. Why they were wrong.” 

A new study this month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, however, says “Not so fast.”

Harvard researchers followed over 120,000 adults for 24-30 years, tracking their diet and health records. The scientists found that replacing 5% of daily calories from saturated fat (like butter, cream, and red meat) with whole grains is associated with a 9% lower risk of heart disease, but replacing saturated fat with refined grains or added sugars does not lower heart disease risk. Additionally, they found that replacing 5% of daily calories from refined grains and added sugars with whole grains or polyunsaturated fats (found in fish, nuts, seeds, and safflower oil) can also significantly reduce heart disease risk. The researchers concluded, “Our findings provide epidemiological evidence of the current dietary guidelines, which recommend both “replacing saturated fatty acids with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids” and “replacing refined grains with whole grains.””

The scientists’ message: Cut down on added sugars, refined grains and saturated fat and replace them with good stuff like whole grains, fish, nuts and seeds. Making small changes – just 5% – can help, according to the Harvard experts.

There’s plenty of room to change in the typical American diet. According to 2010 data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American eats about 2081 calories daily (men more, women less). On average, 11% of those calories come from saturated fat, 13% from added sugars, and 28% from refined grains. Totaled up, this means that 52% of our calories typically come from saturated fat, added sugars and refined grains. Would it be so hard to switch 5% of those refined grains to whole, and cut back another 5% on the added sugar?

The most important message from this study is one that Oldways constantly champions: it’s your overall eating pattern, the combinations of foods you eat regularly, that matters. While daily headlines proclaim certain foods “the enemy” and others as “superfoods” – or worse yet, yammer on about our need for beta-carotene, omega-3s or calcium – we’re advocating for the widest possible variety of good old-fashioned foods, eaten in their minimally processed forms.

Here at Oldways, we don’t demonize saturated fat. We savor small servings of traditional cheeses, and recognize that even olive oil is 14% saturated fat. When your overall diet is healthy, a bit of saturated fat fits in the mix just fine. When the rest of your diet includes large amounts of refined grains and sugars, however, those saturated fats may pose more of a problem.

The bottom line? I’m enjoying a nice piece of 100% whole grain bread, spread with a delicious dab of herb butter, with my dinner tonight. (Cynthia)