Cheese and Saturated Fat Help Reduce Risk of Diabetes in Later Years: Study

Dairy products rich in saturated fat help curb risk of type-2 diabetes, finds a study.

Intake of too much fat and high caloric food elevates the risk of diabetes. But a recent international research by the Medical Research Council and the University of Cambridge found consumption of saturated fat can cut the possibility of diabetes in later years. Their study examined 12,403 diabetic patients living across eight European countries. The experts also conducted blood analysis to assess the level of nine saturated fatty acids in the subjects to note the association between diabetes and regular intake of dairy food.

It was observed that saturated fatty acids having even number of carbon atoms in their molecules like 14, 16 and 18 were related to increased probability for type-2 diabetes and vice-versa.

Food products like animal fat, cheese, butter and red meat have high levels of fat molecules and saturated fat. Health experts say our daily dose of fat  must not exceed beyond 10 percent of overall caloric count from food.

"Our findings provide strong evidence that individual saturated fatty acids are not all the same. The challenge we face now is to work out how the levels of these fatty acids in our blood correspond to the different foods we eat," said Nita Forouhi, study author and researcher at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge University, reports the Guardian.

"Our research could help trigger new directions in experimental studies and basic research so we can better understand the biology. These odd-chain saturated fatty acids are well-established markers of eating dairy fats, which is consistent with several recent studies, including our own, that have indicated a protective effect against type 2 diabetes from eating yoghurt and other dairy products" she adds.

"In contrast, the situation for even-chain saturated fatty acids is more complex. As well as being consumed in fatty diets, these blood fatty acids can also be made within the body through a process which is stimulated by the intake of carbohydrates and alcohol," quotes Forouhi in a news release.

The research was funded by the European Commission. More information is available online in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.