Dietary Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Are Protective Against Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Abstract

Over 50 years of research has sought to define the role dietary fat plays in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Although optimal dietary fat quantity has been keenly pursued over past decades, attention has recently centered on the value of dietary fat quality. The purpose of the present review is to provide a critical assessment of the current body of evidence surrounding efficacy of dietary monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) for reduction of traditional risk factors defining metabolic syndrome (MetS) and CVD. Due to existing and emerging research on health attributes of MUFA rich diets, and to the low prevalence of chronic disease in populations consuming MUFA rich Mediterranean diets, national dietary guidelines are increasingly recommending dietary MUFA, primarily at the expense of saturated fatty acids (SFA). Consumption of dietary MUFA promotes healthy blood lipid profiles, mediates blood pressure, improves insulin sensitivity and regulates glucose levels. Moreover, provocative newer data suggest a role for preferential oxidation and metabolism of dietary MUFA, influencing body composition and ameliorating the risk of obesity. Mounting epidemiological and human clinical trial data continue to demonstrate the cardioprotective activity of the MUFA content of dietary fat. As the debate on the optimal fatty acid composition of the diet continues, the benefit of increasing MUFA intakes, particularly as a substitute for dietary SFA, deserves considerable attention.

Compared to fish oil alone, a corn and fish oil mixture decreases the lipid requirement of a freshwater fish species, Carassius auratus gibelio

“…Different views also exist about the effect of dietary MUFA, and the focus of the debate is the size of the positive effect on controlling chronic disease. According to most of recent reviews, a positive role of dietary MUFA should be existing for human beings, but further researches are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of generating the positive effect (Gillingham et al, 2011;Livingstone et al, 2012;Schwingshackl et al, 2011a,b). In the present study, MUFA were found to display a declining trend in muscle with increased dietary lipid concentrations.…”

Proposal for a Breakfast Quality Index (BQI) for children and adolescents

“…We also evaluated positively the absence of SFA and trans-rich fats, due to their known relationship with CVD and other chronic non-transmittable illnesses (40)(41)(42) . MUFA:SFA, widely used as an indicator of the quality of fats in the diet, was also taken into account in our index (26,30,43) .…”

Vegetable milks and their fermented derivative products

“…Nuts are rich in mono-(MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), vegetable proteins, dietary fiber, phytosterols, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals (Phillips, Ruggio, & Ashraf-Khorassani, 2005;Segura, Javierre, Lizarraga, & Ros, 2006). Most of those compounds have antioxidant properties and are proven to provide a beneficial effect on plasma lipid profile, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and inflammatory processes, among others (Carlson, Eisenmann, Norman, Ortiz, & Young, 2011;Egert, Kratz, Kannenberg, Fobker, & Wahrburg, 2011;Gillingham, Harris-Janz, & Jones, 2011;Jones et al, 2011;Liu, 2012;Myers & Allen, 2012;H. A.…”