General Health Study: Ingestion of trans-fatty acids does not affect insulin sensitivity
By Ben Wasserman
Jul 8, 2008 - 2:43:15 PM
TUESDAY July 8, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new French
study suggests that trans fat does not increase the risk of insulin sensitivity
and diabetes.
The study was conducted in
rats and it does not mean that trans fat causes no harm to humans.
The study published in the July issue of the journal of
Lipid Research showed that either the industrial trans fat (partially
hydrogenated trans fat) and dietary trans fat (from dairy) caused insulin
resistance.
Epidemiologic studies indicated chronic consumption of trans
fat may alter muscle insulin sensitivity. And other studies have shown otherwise
that trans fat like saturated can actually cause problems in the pancreas,
leading to increased risk of diabetes.
Anne-Laure Tardy at Univ Clermont 1, UFR Médecine, UMR 1019
Nutrition Humaine, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France and colleagues sought to
find some evidence to eliminate the concern about the safety of trans fat.
In their study, the researchers fed Wistar rats a diet
enriched with 4 percent of energy from trans fat, either in dairy, industrial
or a diet with non-trans fat as control for 8 weeks.
A test known as intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test
showed that trans fat did not alter insulin and glucose response.
Further, the researchers found trans fat did not alter
mitochondrial oxidative capacity in soleus and tibialis anterior rat muscles
compared to the control non-trans fat although trans fat did induce a specific
reduction in soleus mitochondrial ATP and superoxide anion production.
They concluded that "dietary trans fat of diary or
industrial origin have similar effects and do not impair muscle mitochondrial
capacity and insulin sensitivity."
Epidemiologists and nutritionists at Harvard University have
early estimated that trans fat is implicated in up to 100,000 deaths in the
United States.
Trans fat is unnatural forms of fat and natural human enzymes
may not be able to adequately metabolize them potentially leaving them in
cells/tissue affecting normal physiology.
Early studies showed trans fat altered pancreatic cells and potentially
increased risk of diabetes.
Industrially hydrogenated oils are widely used in food
industry and restaurants. Trans fat can also be converted from natural oil in
any thermal process such as cooking.
The
oils are thermally stable and food prepared with this type of trans fat gives a
longer shelf-life and renders a unique flavor and texture.