LONDON (Reuters) - People who eat large amounts of animal fats, not just meat, have the highest risk of developing heart disease, scientists said. A study of 11,000 health-conscious vegetarians and meat-eaters in Britain showed their risk of coronary heart disease was less than half of the general population, but consuming lots of cheese, eggs, meat and milk raised the odds of getting a heart attack. The research also highlighted the benefits of eating nuts five or more times of week. "The highest intake of nuts was associated with a 23 percent reduction in all cause mortality," the doctors said in the report in the medical journal Heart. People with a total intake of animal fat and cholesterol at around 70 grams a day had three times the death rate from coronary artery disease than those consuming 25 grams daily. "Dietary saturated animal fat and cholesterol, rather than simply meat, were the factors most strongly linked to coronary heart disease. This implies that replacing meat in the diet with other foods rich in animal fat and cholesterol, such as cheese and eggs, will not reduce risk," said Dr Tim Key, one of the authors of the report. The research also indicated that heart disease risk was higher among overweight people and heavier people in the normal weight range. Scientists from the University of Otago in New Zealand, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London took part in the 13-year study.