Healthy Recipe Doctor

This is one of those topics that nutrition researchers will be debating for decades. Does it matter what type of fat we eat in our daily diet or does the total amount of fat matter more? I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that I think both matter depending on what type of disease or condition we are talking about.

Well, a new study was just released that adds a point to the “type of fat does matter” scoreboard. In a Scottish study including 1455 people with colorectal cancer and 1455 matched controls, reductions in colorectal cancer risk were associated with an increased consumption of omega-3s, even after adjusting for total fat intake and energy intake.

The researchers concluded, “The observed different effects of different types of fatty acids underline the importance of type of fat in the etiology and prevention of colorectal cancer.”

[American Journal of Epidemiology 2007, Volume 166 number 2, pages 181-195; Campbell H. et al., "Dietary Fatty Acids and Colorectal Cancer: A Case Control Study."]

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