Butter is bad for you again as new study proves link between dairy and early death
Scientists at Harvard University's School of Public Health in Boston found switching to healthier options cut risk by 20%
FIRST it was likely to kill us – then we were told it would help us live longer.
Now butter it is in the bad books again after a major study linked it with premature death.
Scientists have been so split in recent years over the dairy food's effect on health that consumers often don't know who to believe.
But the latest study rules butter – and other saturated fat-heavy foods like cheese and red meat – ARE killers.
Switching to healthier options, like olive oil, really does save lives, they said.
The findings come from a study of 120,000 people by scientists at Harvard University's School of Public Health, in Boston.
They show the more calories someone gets from saturated fat, the greater the risk.
For each five per cent increase in calories from dairy products, for example, the risk of early death goes up by eight per cent.
But switching to unsaturated fats slashes the premature death risk by almost 20 per cent.
The results mark another twist in the controversial debate over whether dairy goods are good or bad for us.
The National Obesity Forum (NOF) recently warned 30 years of health advice to consumers – warning against eating too much animal fat – was wrong.
It argued there was no good evidence that saturated fat damaged the heart – causing a backlash among some scientists who warned the science behind it was flawed.
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The latest study also casts doubt on the NOF claims.
Volunteers in the research gave details of their eating habits every two to four years for more than three decades.
Scientists monitored deaths and matched them up to dietary habits.
The results revealed trans fats had the worst effect on health.
These are 'hard' fats used for many years in foods like biscuits.
But manufacturers have all but phased them out of many high street foods because of health worries.
Every two per cent of calorie intake from trans fat meant a 16 per cent higher chance of premature death.
Every five per cent rise in saturated fat intake – such as butter – resulted in an eight per cent risk rise.
Researcher Professor Frank Hu said: “Our study shows the importance of eliminating trans fat and replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fats.”
Dr Ian Johnson from the Institute of Food Research said: “This is a large and rigorous study.
“There is nothing in these results consistent with the notion that 'butter is back'.”
