How does monounsaturated fat reduce cholesterol

Choose foods rich in healthier unsaturated fat instead of foods high in saturated fat, not in addition to them. There is a problem with information submitted for this request.

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By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Duyff RL. Fat facts. High-MUFA diets can help lower blood pressure, too.

A large study of people with high blood pressure found that a high-MUFA diet lowered blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, compared to a high-carb diet Similar beneficial results in blood pressure have also been found in people with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome 16 , However, it is important to note that the beneficial effects of high-MUFA diets are only seen when they replace saturated fat or carbs in the diet.

Furthermore, in each of these studies, the high-MUFA diets were part of calorie-controlled diets, meaning that adding extra calories to your diet through high-MUFA foods may not have the same benefits. There is also some evidence that diets rich in MUFAs may help reduce the risk of certain cancers. Prostate cancer, for example, is one of the most common types of cancer in men, especially older men. Many studies have examined whether men who eat a good amount of MUFAs have reduced or increased rates of prostate cancer, but the evidence remains unclear.

Each of the studies examining the role of high-MUFA diets in prostate cancer has found different results. Some show a protective effect, some show no effect and others show a harmful effect 18 , 19 , Therefore, it is unclear how MUFAs affect prostate cancer. High-MUFA diets have also been studied in relation to breast cancer risk 21 , 22 , One large study of women found that those with the highest amounts of oleic acid a type of MUFA found in olive oil in their fat tissue had the lowest rates of breast cancer However, this was only seen in women in Spain — where olive oil is widely consumed — and not in women from other countries.

This suggests it may be another component of olive oil that has a protective effect. In fact, a number of studies have examined olive oil specifically and found that people who eat more olive oil have lower rates of breast cancer 25 , 26 , Thus, other components of diet and lifestyle may be contributing to this beneficial effect. Insulin is a hormone that controls your blood sugar by moving it from the blood into your cells.

The production of insulin is important for preventing high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that high-MUFA diets can improve insulin sensitivity in both those with and without high blood sugar.

A similar, separate study of people with metabolic syndrome found that those who ate a high-MUFA diet for 12 weeks had significantly reduced insulin resistance Other studies have found similar beneficial effects of high-MUFA diets on insulin and blood sugar control 30 , 31 , Thus, there was no need to control for sex or age 3.

The nutrient profiles of 4 cholesterol-lowering diets were compared with that of an AAD Table 1. One cholesterol-lowering diet was low in total fat Step II diet and 3 were high in total fat and monounsaturated fat provided by olive oil OO , peanut oil PO , or peanuts and peanut butter PPB. The AAD was included as a reference diet to approximate the typical diet that is consumed widely today. A Step II diet was used because it is the diet recommended to achieve the maximal cholesterol-lowering response.

The diets were designed to provide the same amount of total fat as the AAD. To achieve this amount of fat in the diet, each MUFA source provided one-half of the fat in the diet. Olive oil was selected as one MUFA food source because it has been frequently tested experimentally. Peanut products were also tested because they are a popular food rich in MUFAs and have not been extensively evaluated in experiments. Two experimental diets with different peanut sources were tested to assess whether there might be a lipid-lowering effect associated with the protein moiety of peanuts in addition to that expected from the fat component.

The experimental design not only enabled us to compare 2 different food sources of MUFAs but also allowed us to evaluate whether peanut products exert a cholesterol-lowering effect that is independent of MUFAs.

Assayed values of macronutrients, fatty acids, and cholesterol of the experimental diets 1. The macronutrient profiles of the 5 experimental diets were analyzed chemically to validate the diet composition. Validation samples were collected as follows. Food preparation was identical to that used in preparing each experimental diet; the Total fat was determined by ether extraction of the oven-dried sample, protein was determined by using the Kjeldahl method, and carbohydrate was determined from the difference.

The assayed experimental diets Table 1 met the target nutrient goals established initially and were consistent with the nutrient database values obtained from the development of the 7-d menu cycle. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triacylglycerol were determined by enzymatic assays. HDL cholesterol was determined after precipitation of apolipoprotein apo B—containing lipoproteins with dextran sulfate molecular weight: The within-laboratory CVs were 1.

All data analyses were performed by using SAS version 6. Twenty-two subjects completed all 5 diet periods and 2 completed 4 of the 5 diet periods. Two other subjects relocated to different geographical areas early in the study after participation in 1 or 2 diet periods. Results are reported for 22 subjects results were identical when data from all 24 subjects were analyzed for the diet periods completed. Compliance with the experimental diets was judged to be excellent on the basis of the results of a variety of assessment techniques described previously 3.

The lipid, lipoprotein, and apolipoprotein data of subjects consuming the 5 experimental diets are given in Table 2 , and the LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triacylglycerol responses to the 4 cholesterol-lowering diets are compared in Figure 1. Changes in apo B paralleled those observed for LDL cholesterol. There were no significant differences in apo A-I concentrations, irrespective of the diet fed.

Lipid and lipoprotein endpoint results for the experimental diets 1. The magnitude of the reduction in LDL-cholesterol concentrations achieved by the 4 cholesterol-lowering diets depended on subjects' initial LDL-cholesterol concentrations Figure 2. In general, subjects with higher LDL-cholesterol concentrations had a greater reduction in LDL cholesterol in response to the cholesterol-lowering diets than did those with lower concentrations. The slopes of the lines for each diet were not significantly different.

The 0. In addition, the average decrease in triacylglycerol of 0. The results of the present study provide further evidence that higher-fat diets that are high in MUFAs and low in SFAs lower total and LDL cholesterol to a degree similar to that observed for a lower-fat, cholesterol-lowering diet 12 — Moreover, in agreement with other reports 12 , 14 , we showed that the high-MUFA diets studied had the added benefit of not increasing triacylglycerol concentrations or lowering HDL-cholesterol concentrations, as the Step II diet tends to.

The finding that a high-MUFA diet favorably affected LDL-cholesterol as well as HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations 12 — 14 , 16 , 17 has important public health implications.

Recently, an elevated triacylglycerol concentration was shown to be a univariate predictor of CVD That the Step II diet tended to increase Lp a concentrations compared with the high-MUFA diets is consistent with results of our previous studies 3 and is of potential significance because an elevated Lp a concentration is also associated with an increased risk of CVD Collectively, these findings point to the fact that a high-MUFA diet may be preferable to a low- fat diet because of more favorable effects on the CVD risk profile.

Specifically, when carbohydrate and total fat intake were constant and SFAs were replaced with MUFAs, there was a significant triacylglycerol-lowering effect observed. This finding has not been typically reported. In large part, this reflects the experimental design that has been used by other investigators to compare the plasma lipid effects of a high-MUFA diet with those of a low-fat diet.

These studies have typically replaced carbohydrate with MUFA, which makes it difficult to evaluate the independent effects of MUFAs when carbohydrate intake changes. This is important, given the triacylglycerol-raising effects of dietary carbohydrate and, specifically, a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Limited data suggest that MUFAs also may decrease platelet aggregation 25 , increase fibrinolysis 26 , and increase bleeding time 27 , thereby protecting against thrombogenesis.

Because most serum triacylglycerol is transported by VLDL, hepatic production or rate of secretion of VLDL triacylglycerol and hydrolysis or removal of circulating triacylglycerol are 2 key determinants of serum triacylglycerol concentrations. The underlying mechanism for the hypotriacylglycerolemic effect of MUFAs is not clear. However, McNamara 29 proposed 2 complementary mechanisms that may be involved: 1 changes in the composition of VLDL and 2 changes in the expressed activities of the enzymes and proteins involved in intravascular processing and catabolism of VLDL, both of which would decrease plasma triacylglycerol concentrations.

The fatty acid composition of VLDL triacylglycerol, which is affected by dietary fatty acid composition, is a determinant for the conversion of VLDL into other lipoproteins and the metabolism of triacylglycerols Therefore, the rates of VLDL production and clearance of triacylglycerol may be altered as a result of the amount and type of fat in the diet 31 , The finding of Montalto and Bensadoun 32 that oleic acid does not increase lipoprotein lipase secretion in cell culture suggests that the decrease in triacylglycerol reported in the present study may reflect an increase in triacylglycerol removal that is due to an effect of total fat and a specific effect of MUFA.

Both HDL and triglyceride levels improve, however, when monounsaturated fatty acids replace carbohydrate. Emerging research also suggests that monounsaturated fatty acids can cause a notable reduction in abdominal fat.

Abdominal fat was unchanged in those consuming a smoothie low in monounsaturated fats. Alpha-linolenic acid ALA , the short-chain omega-3 fatty acid found in some plants, as well as the two long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have beneficial effects on blood pressure and insulin sensitivity, she says. Research shows that omega-6 fatty acids also may be cardioprotective.

Some consumers and health professionals have expressed concern about consuming too much omega-6 fatty acids for fear of disrupting the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, but many experts now say not to worry. Omega-6 fatty acids slightly lower HDL cholesterol, Gillingham says.

However, the substantial improvement in total and LDL cholesterol more than offsets this effect, resulting in a favorable reduction in the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio compared with saturated fatty acids, Gillingham says.

Regardless of the statements made by the AHA, the FAO, and WHO, many people still question these findings and believe that omega-6 fatty acids should be reduced because they compete with omega-3 fatty acids for the same enzymes, leading to the development of either proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory compounds. Moreover, according to the IFIC, appropriate messages are actionable, positive, and empowering, and they encourage consumers to make their own choices.

The following are some examples:.