Monounsaturated Fat
Monounsaturated Fat Benefits
Aids Weight Loss
Contrary to what you think after hearing the word “fat” in your diet, a moderate intake of monounsaturated fats is found to help you lose weight.[r48] A study published in Diabetes Care revealed that a diet higher in fat with half of the fat being of the monounsaturated type helped test subjects lose more weight than a high-carbohydrate low-fat diet.[r47] Fat also adds flavor so it is no wonder that 65% of the subjects preferred the monounsaturated fat diet as a result!
Boosts Heart Health
A plethora of research evidence points out that replacing saturated fats in our diet with monounsaturated fats might help in reducing the risk of heart diseases.[r46] Saturated fats are found to be the main culprit in exceedingly high levels of cholesterol in our blood. Cholesterol clogs the arteries and strains the heart to overwork. Thus, controlling what causes the cholesterol levels to jump, and replacing it with good fats (monounsaturated) is indeed an intelligent move for the health of our heart.[r45]
Helps Reduce Inflammation
Though inflammation is a normal mandatory process for our bodies, increased inflammation exposes us to numerous chronic diseases. A diet high in monounsaturated fats helps reduce inflammation.[r40] This reduction works by way of components inside monounsaturated fat working to create a more anti-inflammatory gene expression profile.[r39]When this happens, there is both a decrease in bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase in plasma and adipose tissue oleic acid content, the component inside olive oil which is also linked to a reduction in breast cancers.[r43]
Great For Blood Sugar Levels
Insulin is the main hormone that controls sugar levels in our blood. The role and levels of insulin production are vital for the prevention and control of diabetes. Research evidence suggests that the consumption of monounsaturated fats in our diet can help regulate and improve insulin levels by 9%.[r42] Another research conducted on 472 participants revealed that consistently consuming foods with monounsaturated fats helped decrease insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome.[r41]
Daily Intake For Monounsaturated Fat
- Amount includes both monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and omega fats.
- Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) is the general term for a set of reference values used to plan and assess nutrient intakes of healthy people.
- Calculate your nutritional needs based on your activity level.
Healthy Foods High In Monounsaturated Fat
- All food nutrient profiles are based on a weight of 100 grams.
- * RDI values are based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day (Female, Age 19-30).
- All foods are vegetarian.
Sources
- r133. Dietary Saturated Fat and Cardiovascular Health: A Review of the Evidence
- r126. Self Nutrition Data
- r48. Effects of unsaturated fatty acids on weight loss, body composition and obesity-related biomarkers
- r47. Dietary composition, body weight, and NIDDM. Comparison of high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, and modified-fat diets
- r46. High-monounsaturated-fat diets for patients with diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis
- r45. Substituting dietary saturated for monounsaturated fat impairs insulin sensitivity in healthy men and women: The KANWU Study
- r44. Tissue stores of individual monounsaturated fatty acids and breast cancer: the EURAMIC study. European Community Multicenter Study on Antioxidants, Myocardial Infarction, and Breast Cancer
- r43. Consumption of olive oil and specific food groups in relation to breast cancer risk in Greece
- r42. Substituting dietary saturated for monounsaturated fat impairs insulin sensitivity in healthy men and women: The KANWU Study
- r41. Insulin resistance determines a differential response to changes in dietary fat modification on metabolic syndrome risk factors: the LIPGENE study
- r40. Dietary fat modifies the postprandial inflammatory state in subjects with metabolic syndrome: the LIPGENE study
- r39. A saturated fatty acid-rich diet induces an obesity-linked proinflammatory gene expression profile in adipose tissue of subjects at risk of metabolic syndrome
- r38. Facts about monounsaturated fats