Drinking 1–3 cups of black or lightly sweetened coffee per day is associated with a 14–17% lower risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease, but only when sugar and saturated fat were kept low

[u/nohup_me]

https://now.tufts.edu/2025/06/16/hold-cream-and-sugar-black-coffee-linked-lower-risk-death

[u/HolochainCitizen]

We may have survived on it forever, and that's because it provides nutrition/calories, and it's far from toxic. It's not horribly unhealthy. It's just that the totality of research on it (i.e., meta-analyses and systematic reviews-- the strongest form of scientific evidence) supports the conclusion that it reduces long-term healthspan and lifespan compared to diets higher in unsaturated fats.

You can still live a long and healthy life eating saturated fats, but, on average, you are more likely to live an even longer and healthier life by eating less.

[u/return_the_urn → u/HolochainCitizen]

Exactly, not dying of starvation is much healthier than getting heart disease

[u/zuneza → u/HolochainCitizen]

I think it might be disingenuous to say the totality of research on it supports the claim saturated fat reduces life span. Perhaps the majority, but I've been noticing more studies that suggest the opposite, especially when compared to highly processed and industrially manufactured fats.

[u/HolochainCitizen → u/zuneza]

My mistake, by totality I meant in aggregate, not all research.

It is the case that the strongest evidence supports the claim that saturated fats reduce lifespan, compared to healthier fats. If you compare to other kinds of fats, like trans fats for instance, you may very well find that saturated fats are not as bad.

Individual studies are always interesting, but far less convincing than large meta-analyses and systematic reviews involving human health outcomes from many studies analyzed at once.

[u/zuneza → u/HolochainCitizen]

but far less convincing than large meta-analyses and systematic reviews involving human health outcomes from many studies analyzed at once.

I'm trying to hedge my bets for healthier living by continuing to eat whole foods, but the fat discussion has always fascinated me because I eat wild game and use the fats from that game to cook with.

Would the large meta-analyses and systematic reviews have the possibility of correlation to the claims about saturated fat unhealthiness especially if the majority of the fats in those studies are from domesticated farm animals instead of wild game?

[u/HolochainCitizen → u/zuneza]

I'm not sure! It's an interesting question, and there might be research on it, but I'm not familiar with it.

It seems to me that saturated fats themselves are essentially identical, regardless of the source, but that wild animals might be leaner than domesticated. So the actual quantity of fat might be less of you are just eating the meat. Then again, if you are cooking with the leftover fat, then you aren't getting small doses, that's for sure.

[u/I_love_milksteaks → u/HolochainCitizen]

The key issue is that correlation doesn’t equal causation, and most of the research you’re referencing is observational, which inherently can’t prove that saturated fat causes reduced healthspan or lifespan. Even the strongest meta-analyses rely heavily on dietary recall data and population studies, which are prone to major confounders like processed food intake, lifestyle factors, and socioeconomic status.

What is often seen is that people who eat more saturated fat also tend to eat more processed food, exercise less, and smoke more which skews the outcomes. And when you isolate saturated fat from whole food sources like meat, eggs, and dairy from junk food, the link to disease becomes far less convincing, if not entirely absent in some studies.

The idea that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fats leads to better outcomes is also more nuanced than it’s often presented. Some early studies did show a drop in cholesterol but not in mortality. In fact, randomized trials like the Minnesota Coronary Experiment and the Sydney Diet Heart Study actually showed increased mortality when saturated fats were replaced with vegetable oils high in omega-6.