High saturated fat diet reduces the prevalence of heart disease by 77%

This study was published in the Journal of the Indian Medical Association 1997 Mar;95(3):67-9, 83

 

Study title and authors:

Association of dietary ghee intake with coronary heart disease and risk factor prevalence in rural males.

Gupta R, Prakash H.

Department of Medicine, Monilek Hospital and Research Centre, Jawahar Nagar, Jaipur.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9212571

The aim of the study was to determine the association between intake of dietary fat, specifically Indian ghee, and prevalence of coronary heart disease. (Ghee is similar to butter, basically both are made from the fats of whole milk, both are usually 80% milk fat or greater in terms of their composition, and about two-thirds of that fat is saturated fat). The study included 1,982 men aged 20 years and more. The men were classified into two groups;
(i) Group one: Consumption of over 1 kg of ghee a month (high ghee consumption).
(ii) Group two: Consumption of less than 1 kg of ghee a month (low ghee consumption).

The study found:
(a) The high ghee group consumed significantly more saturated fat compared to the low ghee group.
(b) The high ghee group had a 77% reduced prevalence of heart disease compared to the low ghee group.