here is some, er, food for thought
Cardiovascular diseases
Diets high in saturated fat are correlated with an increased incidence of atherosclerosiss and coronary heart disease according to a number of studies, both in African green monkeys and humans, such as a study of 22 hypercholesterolemic men. Some studies have suggested that diets high in saturated fat increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Epidemiological studies have found that those whose diets are high in saturated fatty acids, including lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acid, had a higher prevalence of coronary heart disease. Additionally, controlled experimental studies have found that people consuming high saturated fat diets experience negative cholesterol profile changes. A 2003 meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that diets high in saturated fat might adversely affect cholesterol profiles (no kidding).
Experiments in which subjects were randomly assigned to either Mediterranean (which replaces saturated fat with mono and polyunsaturated fat) or a control diet showed that subjects assigned to a Mediterranean diet exhibited a significantly decreased likelihood of suffering a second heart attack, cardiac death, heart failure or stroke.
An evaluation of data from Harvard Nurses' Health Study found that "diets lower in carbohydrate and higher in protein and fat are not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease in women. When vegetable sources of fat and protein are chosen, these diets may moderately reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
