Introduction
It has been known for many decades that saturated fat increases LDL. Recent research, however, suggests that the LDL that saturated fat increases is larger and more buoyant than other particles. This type of pattern of lipoproteins is referred to as “Pattern A”.
Review
A study by Dreon et al concluded that “These data indicate that a high saturated fat intake (especially 14:0 and 16:0) is associated with increased concentrations of larger, cholesterol-enriched LDL”. (1)
Another study by Dreon et al found that reducing saturated fat intake reduces LDL but also increases the ratio of Pattern B: Pattern A lipoproteins (2).
Research by Siri and Krauss has suggested that low-carb, high-fat diets favor Pattern A lipoproteins while high-carb, low-fat diets favor Pattern B (3).
According to a study by Krauss, “Out of the 87 men with pattern A on the high-fat diet, 36 converted to pattern B on the low-fat diet… Taken together, these results indicate that in the majority of men, the reduction in LDL cholesterol seen on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet is mainly because of a shift from larger, more cholesterol-enriched LDL to smaller, cholesterol-depleted LDL” (4).
Conclusions
Saturated fat primarily increases pattern A lipoproteins.
References
1 Dreon DM, et al. Change in dietary saturated fat intake is correlated with change in mass of large low-density-lipoprotein particles in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 May; 67(5): 828-36.
2 Dreon DM, et al. Low-density lipoprotein subclass patterns and lipoprotein response to a reduced-fat diet in men. FASEB J. 1994 Jan;8(1):121-6.
3 Siri PW, Krauss RM. Influence of dietary carbohydrate and fat on ldl and hdl particle distributions. Current Atherosclerosis Reports. 2005; 7(6): 455-459.
4 Krauss RM. Heterogeneity of plasma low-density lipoproteins and atherosclerosis risk. Curr Opin Lipidol. 1994 Oct;5(5):339-49.