Switching from saturated animal fats to unsaturated plant-based fats affects the composition of lipids in the blood, which in turn positively influences the risk of chronic diseases, a study finds.
- Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to a plant-based diet high in unsaturated fats affects the composition of lipids in the blood, which in turn influences long-term disease risk, researchers say.
- Study participants who ate a diet higher in vegetable oils had a significantly reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
- “Our study confirms with even greater certainty the health benefits of a diet rich in unsaturated vegetable fats – the Mediterranean diet for example.”
“Emphasizing the importance of a healthy diet to prevent chronic diseases, the World Health Organization recommends replacing saturated fats from animal sources with unsaturated fats from plant sources to reduce cardiometabolic risk.” But how exactly is it better for your health?
With the aim of better quantifying the benefits of such a diet, a team of researchers undertook to precisely analyze the composition of fats in the blood, better known as lipids, in a cohort of volunteers.
Butter or oil: what effects on blood fats?
As part of their work, published in the journal Nature Medicinescientists from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden recruited 113 healthy adults. For 16 weeks, one group ate a diet high in saturated animal fats, such as butter, while the other group ate a diet high in unsaturated plant-based fats, such as vegetable oils (olive, rapeseed, etc.).
Using a method called lipidomic analysis, the researchers then analyzed their blood samples to identify specific lipid molecules that reflected the different diets each participant consumed. “We assessed the effects on blood lipids with a multilipid score (MLS [en anglais]), knowing that a high MLS indicates a healthy blood fat profile, explain the researchers in a communicated. A high intake of unsaturated vegetable fats and a low intake of saturated animal fats may help achieve high levels of MLS.”
Lower risk of chronic disease with vegetable oils
The participants’ multilipid scores were then statistically linked to the occurrence of chronic diseases, starting with cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, in participants followed for several years. The scientists found that volunteers who had a higher MLS (i.e. who followed a diet rich in vegetable oils) had “a significantly reduced risk” to develop this type of cardiometabolic diseases.
“Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to a plant-based diet high in unsaturated fats affects the composition of fats in the blood, which in turn influences long-term disease risk.”the researchers summarize. “Our study provides even greater certainty about the health benefits of a diet rich in unsaturated plant fats – such as the Mediterranean diet – and could help provide targeted dietary advice to those who would benefit most from changing their eating habits.”