Which Fats Raise Blood Sugar?

Author: Leticia Celentano Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Intake of saturated fatty acids leads to the accumulation of fat deposits in muscle cells, which reduces insulin sensitivity.

The link between fat and blood sugar is the focus of a 2012 Yale University study , which discusses the relatively unknown term ectopic adipose tissue - fat deposits in places where there should be no fat, such as muscle cells.

Not all fats taken with food lead to ectopic processes in the muscles. Saturated fats such as palmitic acid , found in meat , milk and eggs, are directly responsible for increasing insulin resistance and blood sugar imbalance. On the other hand, the unsaturated fatty oleic acid found in nuts , olives and avocados has the opposite effect, albeit less pronounced.

Why are saturated fats so harmful?

Upon entering the metabolism, the breakdown of these fatty acids leads to the release of significant amounts of waste materials, which are often toxic. Some of them lead to dysfunction of mitochondria (energy centers of cells), which in turn leads to increased oxidative stress, the formation of more free radicals , whose harmful effects often initiate or enhance the development of inflammatory processes.

The accumulation of fat in the muscles increases the muscle content of diacyl glycerol, a substance that greatly increases insulin resistance.

While monounsaturated fatty acids are more likely to be detoxified and properly stored in the body, saturated ones lead to the release of some waste products leading to lipotoxicity (lipo - fat, toxin - poison). This toxicity of fat that builds up in muscle is a well-known sign of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes .

In human nutrition, saturated fats come from animal products and unsaturated fats come mainly from plant sources. Experimental changes in eating habits, replacing animal fats with vegetable ( olive oil ) have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control ( Diabetologia , 2001; No. 44, pp. 321-319).

Animal fats, leading to the accumulation of ectopic fat deposits in the muscles, not only worsen insulin signaling, the increased free radical damage suppresses the genetic expression of an important mitochondrial enzyme. This means that it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities. The enzyme itself - CPT-1 is key to the breakdown of fats, without it they accumulate even faster.

Vegetarians who avoid meat products and the fat in them have 60% higher expression of this gene than people who eat meat products. This helps them metabolize dietary fats much faster and prevents them from accumulating. If you want to lose weight, it is advisable to severely limit animal fats and replace them with reasonable amounts of vegetable fats, such as olive oil.

Which Fats Raise Blood Sugar?

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