Marco Julian Serrano A recent research study reveals that switching from saturated animal fats like dairy butter to unsaturated oils from olives and nuts proves healthier for heart health.
The study was published earlier this month in Medicine and verified that exchanging saturated animal fats with unsaturated plant based fats modifies the fat composition in an individual’s blood. It lowers their chances of developing cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.
Key Findings About Unsaturated Plant Fats And Their Health Benefits
Some major discoveries of the studies are,
- Moving from saturated animal fats to unsaturated plant fats reduces susceptibility to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Utilising intricate lipidomics, the research analysed blood fats, proving the health advantage of such diet alterations.
- A Mediterranean diet rich in unsaturated plant fats is specifically good for maintaining heart health.
Clemens Wittenbecher, who led the research at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden said, “Our research emphasises even more strongly on the health benefits from a diet high in unsaturated plant fats.”
Diet Changes and Long Term Health
The researchers carried data analysis across several studies. These included dietary intervention studies as well as long term cohort studies. They employed a scoring system called multi lipid score (MLS) to express how changes in diets can affect blood lipids. An increased MLS suggests a healthier blood fat profile.
The findings showed participants who scored higher on MLS displayed much lower risks for developing cardiometabolic diseases compared to others. More explicitly, an elevated MLS score meant,
- A decreased risk of heart disease, six times more (32% compared to 5%)
- A five times stronger reduction in risks for Type 2 diabetes (26% versus 5%)
Recommendations for a Healthy Diet
The World Health Organization recommends limiting the intake of saturated fatty acids, which can help lower LDL cholesterol levels and better heart health. Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats from plant based foods can also reduce the chances of coronary heart disease.
Evangeline Mantzioris, PhD, an accredited practising dietitian from South Australia, spoke to Medical News Today. He said animal fats elevate blood lipids like triglycerides and cholesterol, both the HDL and LDL cholesterol types. This consequently increases heart disease risk.
Dietary Fats Importance
Fats are crucial in our diets but their sources are very important. Dana Hunnes, PhD, a dietitian at RR UCLA Medical Center placed emphasis on this point. She highlighted the importance of fats for cellular membrane brain health while noting that plant based fat sources tend to be replete with micronutrients, antioxidants alongside other healthy compounds present in plants capable of reducing inflammation in the body.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests keeping caloric intake from saturated fats under 10 percent per day. Nevertheless, around 70-75 % adults in the US disregard this suggestion.
Plant Based Oils Selection For Better Health
Cooking experts give recommendations for making plant based oils selection,
- Olive oil
- Avocado oil
- Peanut oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Walnut oil
- Flax oil
- Hemp oil
However, not every plant based oil is similar. For instance, palm and coconut oils have high saturated fat levels despite being vegetable oils.
Simple Diet Replacement
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend replacing butter with oils such as canola, corn, safflower, sunflower and soybean to reduce intake of saturated fat. Some sample swaps are,
- Using spread instead of butter in sandwiches
- Replacing butter with healthier cooking oils
- Increase vegetables intake along with whole grains, avocado, fruits laying emphasis on nuts , seeds and legumes
Hunnes recommended making gentle changes slowly for better acceptance and tolerance.
In conclusion
The new research adds more argument to the idea that food items rich in heart healthy unsaturated fats should replace foods full of saturated fats. This lowers chances of heart disease and diabetes. By embracing a Mediterranean diet pattern alongside simple switches one can better their diet reducing disease risk while boosting overall quality of life.
