After eating butter, the level of triglycerides – fats that in addition to cholesterol contribute to the risk of heart disease – increases in the blood to a much lesser extent than vegetable fats, according to a study by Swedish scientists.
Information on this subject was provided by AlphaGalileo.
Research co-author Lena Ohlsson from the University of Lund explained to PAP that how the level of various fatty compounds in the blood changes after eating a fatty meal is one of the many factors that may affect the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
However, based on our research, it cannot be said that vegetable fats are worse for health than butter. This discovery only proves that different fats have both negative and positive properties and therefore our diet should contain different types of fats. It is good to eat a little butter and at the same time not to forget about good-quality vegetable fats. We should not overuse only one group of fats – emphasized the researcher
She also reminded that long-term use of butter increases the concentration of both bad (LDL) and good (HDL) cholesterol, which also affects the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Swedish scientists conducted the test on a group of 19 women and 28 men. Each person ate three meals containing canola oil (a variety of rapeseed oil with a fatty acid composition slightly different than in Europe) and linseed oil or butter or olive oil. On the day before the blood tests, no one could eat after 21 p.m.
The next morning, fasting blood samples were taken from all of them for fat analysis. Later, everyone ate their meal again, containing 35 grams of tested fat and providing about 810 kcal. This time, blood samples were taken 1 hour and 3, 5 and 7 hours after the end of the meal. All subjects fasted during the day.
They found that blood triglyceride levels increased less than vegetable fats shortly after eating butter. This difference was especially noticeable in men.
According to the authors, this is partly due to the fact that butter is high in short-chain fatty acids, which are quickly used as an energy source and therefore do not contribute much to the increase in blood fat levels after a meal. These are healthy fatty compounds. They are used, for example, in the nutrition of people who cannot eat food in a normal way.
However, this does not fully explain the observed differences – emphasized Ohlsson.
According to her, the study showed no changes in cholesterol levels, as it takes several days for them to happen.
This discovery provides us with a more detailed picture of the different fats in our diet. Olive oil, the health benefits of which is often touted, has been thoroughly studied. It is well known that butter raises blood cholesterol levels after prolonged use, while its short-term effects are not so well studied. Our results show that different food fats may have different benefits, commented the lead researcher Julia Svensson of Lund University.
The researcher also reminded that all fats are ultimately caloric and if we do not burn what we have eaten, we will start to gain weight after a long time, and the risk of various diseases will increase.
According to Svensson, the differences between the sexes may be related to the different hormonal balance, the volume of adipose tissue and the fundamental differences in metabolism between men and women. Research in women is complicated by the fact that in order to obtain reliable results, they should always be tested in the same phase of the monthly cycle. (PAP)