It’s not just the kind of Fats you consume, but whether they come from animal or plant sources that counts when gauging the effects on your health. Researchers have found that mono-unsaturated fats from plants are significantly more heart healthy than those from animals, all else being equal…
Some common foods that provide mono-unsaturated Fats…
Researchers used data from 63,412 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 29,966 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Both these U.S. studies used detailed food-frequency questionnaires administered every four years to evaluate the composition of the participants’ diets.
During an average 22 years of follow-up, there were 20,672 deaths among participants, 4,588 of them from heart disease. Analyzing the diet information, the researchers found:
- Participants with a higher intake of mono-unsaturated fatty acids from plants had a 16 percent lower risk of death from any cause compared to those with lower intakes.
- Participants with a higher intake of mono-unsaturated fatty acids from animals had a 21 percent higher risk of death from any cause.
- Replacing saturated fats, refined carbohydrates (like simple sugars) or trans fats with an equal number of calories (2 percent — 5 percent of the total) from mono-unsaturated fatty acids from plants might lower the risk of heart disease deaths and death from any cause between 10 percent and15 percent.
- Replacing mono-unsaturated fatty acids from animals with an equal amount of calories (5 percent of the total) of mono-unsaturated fatty acids from animals might lower the risk of heart disease deaths and deaths from any cause between 24 percent to 26 percent.
“Our results emphasize the importance of the source and quantity of mono-unsaturated fatty acids in the diet — we should eat more mono-unsaturated fatty acids from plant sources and less mono-unsaturated fatty acids from animal sources,” said Marta Guasch-Ferré, Ph.D., a research associate and one of the lead authors of this study along with Geng Zong, Ph.D., a research fellow. Both work at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Now you know…
Mono-unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature and solidify when refrigerated. Sources of plant-based mono-unsaturated fats include olive and other vegetable oils, avocados and many nuts and seeds. Sources of animal-based mono-unsaturated fats include full-fat dairy products, eggs, poultry, red meats and fish. To determine whether a food you like delivers mono-unsaturated fatty acids, and how much, check this fairly comprehensive list…
Now you know what to swap for what to significantly reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack! Why wouldn’t you do it?
~ Maggie J.