Health

Not all fats are created equal: Scientists explain which foods raise and lower cholesterol

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Different types of fats affect the body in different ways.

Not all fats are the same: they are saturated and unsaturated. Eating foods that contain them has a completely different effect on such aspects of health as body weight or cholesterol levels, Doctor Peter reported, citing foreign studies.

In particular, scientists from Oxford University presented (at a recent congress of the European Society of Cardiology) data on how regular consumption of different types of fats can affect the body. Experts monitored what happens to the human body when the diet regularly includes such products as butter, fatty meat, cakes and pastries, cookies – sources of saturated fats. According to the experts, three weeks of such a diet is enough for excess fat to be deposited in the liver, and cholesterol levels to increase (specifically, the amount of fat in the liver during this time increases by 20%, and cholesterol levels increase by 10%). Scientists also noted that people who experience such unfavorable changes may not gain weight, that is, it is sometimes impossible to determine by external signs that problems have arisen.

“Saturated fats very quickly and imperceptibly create a risk to heart health without causing changes in a person's weight. So even slim people who eat unhealthy foods can suffer from internal obesity and high cholesterol,” the experts noted.
In turn, observation of volunteers who consumed polyunsaturated fats (sources – fatty fish, sunflower oil, some nuts), revealed other changes. In three weeks of such a diet, the total level of cholesterol in the blood and the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood of people decreased by about 10%. Scientists said that when receiving these fats, the body's cells become more active in breaking down fat deposits in the body to generate energy.

“A diet with the addition of fatty fish, nuts and vegetable oil helps the body reduce the level of its own fats in the blood,” the authors of the study postulated.
Earlier, the MedikForum.ru portal wrote that the use of healthy fats protects the body from dangerous stagnation of bile.

Important! Information provided for reference purposes. Ask a specialist about contraindications and side effects and do not self-medicate under any circumstances. At the first signs of illness, consult a doctor.