Replacing Saturated Fats with Polyunsaturated Fats Slows Diabetes

23 Mar 2016 --- Research from Kings College London (KCL) has shown that eating nuts and cooking with vegetable oil “prevents the progression of Type 2 diabetes.” Weight loss has long been regarded as an effective way to prevent the progression of prediabetes into Type 2 diabetes. But now, experts have discovered that a targeted dietary intervention could have a similar impact as well.

Study author Dr Nicola Guess from the KCL Department of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences said: ‘'This study is the first to explore whether we can target dietary advice taking into account the underlying differences in the two prediabetes states.”

Prediabetes is often a precursor to Type 2 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. It is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not sufficient to be classified as Type 2 diabetes. Scientists advise that people with prediabetes should avoid saturated fats, such as those found in animal products, including meat and butter.

The new study, published in the journal PLOS One, investigated the differing effects of dietary fats on prediabetes as two separate conditions– one in which the liver produces too much glucose, and one in which glucose is not taken up properly by the muscle.

The scientists tested small groups of people across a wide spectrum of glucose levels: 15 healthy people, 14 athletic and 23 obese people, as well as 10 people with prediabetes and 11 with Type 2 diabetes.

Glucose levels and fatty acids in the blood of the participants was analyzed. Diets were also evaluated via a dietary questionnaire.

Results showed that replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats helps prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes –  a condition in which the blood glucose levels are high but not high enough to be considered diabetes. The condition often leads to full-blown Type 2 diabetes.

As saturated fats raise the levels of ‘bad cholesterol’ in a person's blood, the scientists found that in the condition where glucose uptake into the muscle is repaired, replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats helped to slow development of diabetes.

The results suggest that polyunsaturated fats promote uptake of glucose by the insulin receptors in the muscles.

And, in people whose livers were producing too much glucose, reducing saturated fat was found to be linked to slower progression of the disease. However, replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat was found to have no effect.

“The findings suggest that increasing dietary intake of polyunsaturated fats may have a beneficial effect for patients with a certain type of prediabetes but also illuminates why certain dietary changes may have no effect on progression of Type 2 diabetes in the other subtype,” Guess explained.

“We intend to build on this work with larger studies, and ultimately test this idea in a randomized trial.”