Researchers spotlight the many health benefits of high-quality plant oils
Diet-related fat changes in the blood can be accurately measured and linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to one rich in plant-based unsaturated fats changes blood fat composition, influencing long-term disease risk. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)
Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to one rich in plant-based unsaturated fats changes blood fat composition, influencing long-term disease risk.
A recent study published in Nature Medicine, led by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, the German Institute of Human Nutrition, and other institutions, demonstrates that diet-related fat changes in the blood can be accurately measured and linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
“Our study confirms with even more certainty the health benefits of a diet high 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,” says Clemens Wittenbecher, the study’s senior author and a research leader at Chalmers University of Technology.
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of healthy diets in preventing chronic diseases, recommending the replacement of saturated fats with plant-based unsaturated fats to reduce cardiometabolic risk. However, the certainty of these guidelines is moderate due to limitations in existing studies.
This new study addresses these limitations by closely analyzing fats in the blood, also known as lipids, using a method called lipidomics. This detailed lipid measurement enabled the researchers to innovatively link diet and disease by combining different study types, including highly controlled dietary intervention studies and long-term cohort studies.
Part of the research involved a dietary intervention study at the University of Reading, U.K., with 113 participants. For 16 weeks, one group consumed a diet high in saturated animal fats, while the other group followed a diet rich in unsaturated plant-based fats. Blood samples were analyzed to identify specific lipid molecules reflecting the different diets.
"We summarized the effects on blood lipids with a multi-lipid score (MLS). A high MLS indicates a healthy blood fat profile, and a high intake of unsaturated plant fat and low intake of saturated animal fat can help achieve such positive MLS levels,” says Fabian Eichelmann from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke and first author of the study.
These MLS results from the dietary intervention study were then statistically related to the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in large observational studies. These cohort studies followed initially healthy participants for several years. The analysis showed that participants with a higher MLS, indicating a beneficial dietary fat composition, had a substantially reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases.
The study also examined whether individuals with low MLS levels, indicating high saturated fat content in their diet, specifically benefited from a healthier diet. The Mediterranean diet, known for its high unsaturated plant fat content, was used in the large PREDIMED trial. The researchers found that diabetes prevention was most pronounced in individuals with low MLS levels at the start of the study.
Common plat-based sources of unsaturated fats
The most common sources of plant-based unsaturated fats include:
Nuts and Seeds:
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Flaxseeds
- Chia seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
Vegetable Oils:
- Olive oil
- Canola oil
- Sunflower oil
- Safflower oil
- Avocado oil
- Soybean oil
Avocados:
- Whole avocados
- Avocado oil
Olives:
- Whole olives
- Olive oil
Legumes:
- Soybeans (including tofu and tempeh)
Nut Butters:
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Other nut and seed butters
Diet is so complex that it is often difficult to draw conclusive evidence from a single study. Our approach of using lipidomics to combine intervention studies with highly controlled diets and prospective cohort studies with long-term health tracking can overcome current limitations in nutrition research,” explains Wittenbecher.
Previous large cohort and intervention studies that informed this research include:
- The German EPIC-Potsdam study, which looked at the Nordic diet, Mediterranean diet, and the risk of chronic diseases.
- Harvard's Nurses’ Health Studies, among the largest investigations into the risk factors for major chronic diseases in women.
- The PREDIMED trial, which focused on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts.
This research highlights the significant health benefits of switching to a diet rich in unsaturated plant fats and provides a stronger basis for targeted dietary advice to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
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