Heart Healthy Benefits of Monounsaturated Fats Reconfirmed

Low HDL (high density lipoprotein, “good” cholesterol) levels and high LDL (low density lipoprotein, “bad” cholesterol) levels are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  Previous studies have suggested that the addition of dietary monounsaturated fat (MUFA), common in the Mediterranean diet, is a viable approach to raising HDL levels. David Jenkins, from St. Michael's Hospital (Ontario, Canada), and colleagues recruited  17 men and 7 postmenopausal women to complete a very low saturated fat diet before being randomly assigned to either a high-MUFA diet or a low- MUFA diet. Both groups of patients were assigned to a specific vegetarian diet which included oats, barley, psyllium, eggplant, okra, soy, almonds and a plant sterol enriched margarine. In the high-MUFA group, the researchers substituted 13% of calories from carbohydrates with a high-MUFA sunflower oil, with the option of a partial exchange with avocado oil. The team found significant reductions in blood cholesterol levels over the two month study period for participants, with the replacement of 13% of total calories from carbohydrate by monounsaturated fats in the dietary portfolio resulting in a 12.5% greater increase in HDL and lowering LDL by 35%.  Explaining that: “Monounsaturated fat increased the effectiveness of a cholesterol-lowering dietary portfolio,” the researchers write that:  “The potential benefits for cardiovascular risk were achieved through increases in HDL cholesterol, further reductions in the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol and reductions in C-reactive protein.”