New research suggests that saturated fats from foods like butter, cream and meat do not increase the risk of early death from stroke, heart disease or diabetes, reports an article on telegraph.co.uk.

Nutritionists have long advised against eating foods with animal fats is harmful, but this new study, the largest ever undertaken, found no connection to early deaths.  The study shows that trans-fats, found in margarine and other processed foods is the real danger.  Those fats raise the risk of death by 34 percent.

Saturated fats come from foods like butter, milk, eggs and chocolate, while trans-fats are found in processed foods like oils, packaged baked goods and snacks.  The researchers say trans-fats provide no health benefits, and significantly increase health problems.

The new research, involving over one million subjects, looked at 50 earlier studies to draw the conclusions, and found no evidence that saturated fats were bad for your health.

But they do not recommend increasing your saturated fat intake.  The data also did not find ant evidence that large amounts of saturated fats in our diets had any benefits, either.  Using current guidelines, it is recommended that we limit our saturated fat intake to 10 percent of our energy, while trans-fats should be kept below one percent.

A recent study from the University of Cambridge found evidence that diabetes could be helped by a diet rich in saturated fats from dairy products.

Saturated fats have been on the no list since research in the 1950’s linked them to increased heart and other health problems, but new data is beginning to show that link may not be as solid as once thought.

No one is advocating a major increase in the consumption of saturated fats, since there may be other problems that arise from a diet high in fats, such as obesity, and could lead to other health issues.