That's not scientific and not smart. But studies measuring saturated fat in the blood and risk for heart disease show there is an association. Having a lot of saturated fat in your body is not a good thing. The question is, what causes people to store more saturated fat in their blood, or membranes or tissues?"
The authors acknowledge that the study is limited by the relatively short timeframe that the diets were followed for. However, a small number of the participants were given the diets in reverse order, starting with the highest carb diet, and the same observations regarding palmitoleic acid were made.
"A higher proportion of plasma saturated fat is related to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease," conclude the authors. "Thus, there is a need to better understand the relationship between dietary and plasma saturated fat."
Recently, Medical News Today reported on an analysis of clinical trials for four popular diets, questioning the long-term benefits of the Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers and Zone diets.