Guidelines should distinguish between good and bad fats
Government guidelines on fat in the diet should be revised to put more emphasis on replacement of bad fats with good ones, reports a new British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) taskforce.
The news comes as the US changes its dietary guidelines to make consumers more aware of the benefits and risks of different types of fat.
The BNF taskforce's new report says that the medical understanding of the role of dietary nutrients in the prevention of disease has grown and so the dietary recommendations should be amended to reflect this.
It is now known, for example, that as well as eating fats in moderation, replacement of saturated fat with unsaturated fatty acids (mono and polyunsaturates) improves heart health. The taskforce also found average intakes of healthy long chain n-3 fatty acids (as found in oily fish) are well below recommended levels.
The UK Department of Health wants to reduce the mortality rate from heart disease and stroke by at least 40% in people under 75 by 2010. To help achieve this the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said that fat and sugar are its next targets following its campaign to cut salt consumption. According to Jacqui Webster, head of the agency's nutrition strategy branch, the FSA wants to see the intake of saturated fat reduced to 11% of food energy for 5-year-olds and upwards by 2010.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new Food Guidance System that differentiates between healthy unsaturated fats and unhealthy saturated and trans fats. It recommends the main sources of fat should come from vegetable oils rather than solid fats and foods should contain no trans fat. Exceptions are coconut and palm kernel oils, which the USDA says are "high in saturated fats and for nutritional purposes should be considered to be solid fats"
The BNF taskforce was set up to review the link between current food consumption and cardiovascular disease. Chaired by professor Keith Frayn from the University of Oxford, it comprised a panel of experts from a range of different disciplines. For copies of the report (priced £47.50 p&p) call 01235 465 500.
