Nature: replacing butter with vegetable oil boosts heart health

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and the German Institute of Human Nutrition have found that avoiding butter in favor of unsaturated fat-rich foods (vegetable oils) reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Medicine.

A total of 113 people participated in the study. For 16 weeks, one group followed a diet high in saturated animal fats, while the other group followed a diet rich in unsaturated vegetable fats.

Saturated fats have a solid consistency and are predominantly of animal origin. They are found in lard, sausages, cheese, cream, milk, butter, and some plant products such as palm oil and coconut oil. Unsaturated fats are obtained from vegetable raw materials - canola, sunflower, flax.

After completing the experiment, scientists took blood samples from the participants for laboratory analysis and began monitoring the volunteers. During several years of observation, the researchers recorded all new cases of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It turned out that those who consumed more products with unsaturated fats of vegetable origin, these pathologies occurred less often than those who favored saturated fats.

Scientists explained that the consumption of healthy vegetable oils (olive oil, flaxseed oil) helped to improve the lipid (fat) profile of the blood. The lipid profile consists of determining the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and different density lipoprotein cholesterol. If the concentration of these compounds in the body is normal, the probability of developing atherosclerosis, hypertension and other factors of heart and vascular disease is reduced.

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