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Title: Letter to the Editor re: Bittman's "Butter is Back"

Author
item LICHTENSTEIN, ALICE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: New York Times
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/26/2014
Publication Date: 3/29/2014
Citation: Lichtenstein, A.H. 2014. Letter to the Editor re: Bittman's "Butter is Back". New York Times. A20.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Mark Bittman suggests that “Butter Is Back” (column, March 26) based on one highly controversial meta-analysis. There are a number of ways to summarize the available scientific data. The links? Conclusions of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, released last fall, found strong evidence for a link between saturated fat (butter, cheese, fatty meat) and heart disease. More important, issues related to the healthiest types of dietary fat should not be conflated with equally important but very distinct issues related to the heavy reliance on processed foods, ubiquitous use of added sugars, infatuation with nonfat products or sustainability of our food supply. At this time the best advice we can give people is to consume a heart-healthy diet that emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains; includes low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, nontropical vegetable oils and nuts; and limits intake of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages and red meats. Particularly in an era where dietary restraint is not our strong suit, returning to butter and fatty cuts of meat may likewise return us to the high rates of heart disease we had decades ago, not a place that any of us wants to see again.