Consuming too much animal fat and saturated fatty acids are associated with type 2 diabetes. Researchers warn that substituting such fats with healthy fats such as vegetable oils and avocado can prevent the advance of the disease.
An international team of researchers, including scientists at the Rovira i Virgili University, in Spain, launched a study that explored the effects of diet on patients who were at high risk of developing cardiovascular risk. One aspect of this study concluded that the consumption of animal fats, particularly butter, saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids increased the risk of type 2 diabetes. Certain fats are better than others, and consumers need to be able to distinguish what the healthiest choices are.
Saturated fatty acids are found in products of animal origin (cheese, butter, cream, fatty meats …) but also in pastries, pastries, chocolate bars and cookies. Trans fatty acids are identifiable by the term “partially hydrogenated oils and are often found in foods that have been deep-fried. Excess consumption of these two types of lipids pushes a person towards cardiovascular disease. Researchers evaluated the associations between the total and the lipid subtypes consumed and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers who evaluated the associations between the total lipids consumed the and lipid subtypes and how the fats prevented or encouraged the development of diabetes.
The main findings showed that participants who consumed large quantities of animal fat, and more broadly saturated fatty acids, had a twice the risk of developing diabetes. Specifically, consuming 12 grams per day of butter was associated with a twice the risk of diabetes after 4.5 years of follow-up.
The data was obtained from 3349 participants who were free of diabetes at the start of the survey but were flagged as having high cardiovascular risk. After 4.5 years of follow-up, 266 of them developed diabetes. According to the researchers, these results emphasize how a Mediterranean diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and cereals and low in animal fat is crucial for the prevention of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes.
The study also demonstrated the importance of substituting saturated and animal fats – especially red and processed meats – with vegetable substitutes such as olive oil and walnut oil, oily fish – mackerel, salmon, sardines – avocado, walnuts, and hazelnuts that are abundant in unsaturated fatty acids – omega 3 and 6 fatty acids – and can thus contribute, to a certain extent, toward the optimum performance of the human cardiovascular system and fight off diabetes.
