Snack chips fried in corn oil alleviate cardiovascular disease risk factors when substituted for low-fat or high-fat snacks.
BACKGROUND
The perception that all high-fat snacks are unhealthy may be wrong.


OBJECTIVE
We aimed to assess whether replacing low-fat and high-fat snacks with snacks rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and low in saturated and trans fatty acids would improve cardiovascular health.


METHODS
Thirty-three adults participated in a randomized crossover trial of 3 controlled feeding phases of 25 d each in which a different type of snack was provided: low-fat (30.8% of energy from fat, 5.2% of energy from PUFAs), high-PUFA (36.3% of energy from fat, 9.7% of energy from PUFAs), or high-fat (37.9% of energy from fat, 5.8% of energy from PUFAs) snack.


RESULTS
Each diet reduced LDL- and total cholesterol concentrations, but reductions were greater with the low-fat and the high-PUFA diets than with the high-fat diet: LDL cholesterol (11.8% and 12.5% compared with 8.8%, respectively; P = 0.03 and 0.01), total cholesterol (10.5% and 10.7% compared with 7.9%, respectively; P = 0.03 and 0.02). The high-PUFA diet tended to reduce triacylglycerol concentrations (9.4%; P = 0.06), and this change was greater than that with the low-fat (P = 0.028) and high-fat (P = 0.0008) diets.


CONCLUSIONS
These data show that snack type affects cardiovascular health. Consuming snack chips rich in PUFA and low in saturated or trans fatty acids instead of high-saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid or low-fat snacks leads to improvements in lipid profiles concordant with reductions in cardiovascular disease risk.
St-Onge
Marie-Pierre
MP
Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. ms2554@columbia.edu
Aban
Inmaculada
I
Bosarge
Aubrey
A
Gower
Barbara
B
Hecker
Kari D
KD
Allison
David B
DB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003296:Cooking; D003314:Corn Oil; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D004041:Dietary Fats; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids; D014280:Triglycerides; D003314:Corn Oil; D002784:Cholesterol