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DIETARY FAT  AND DIABETES

This section outlines the research regarding the effect that dietary fat has on various insulin resistance and diabetes-related health parameters. 

 

KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS

There are mixed results in the research regarding the effect that dietary fat has on insulin resistance:

a. High dietary fat consumption has been associated with insulin resistance

b. Saturated fat consumption has been associated with impaired insulin sensitivity

c. However, saturated fat consumption has also been associated with no adverse effect on indicators of diabetes risk

 

However,

d. Fatty acids in blood have been identified as a potential contributor to the development of impaired insulin sensitivity

 

VERY IMPORTANT:

While evidence is not proof and association does not necessitate causality, there is currently evidence to support the 2 following, contradictory claims:

  1. Fat intake (and especially saturated fat intake) does not contribute to insulin resistance

  2. Fat intake (and especially saturated fat intake) does contribute to insulin resistance

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Therefore, it is to be expected that there will exist promoters of both high fat and low-fat diets, as well as success stories found by using both approaches.

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More research is needed before conclusive statements can be made for populations in general.

 

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RESEARCH LIBRARY

a. High dietary fat consumption has been associated with insulin resistance

  • Marshall JA, Hamman RF, Baxter J. 1991. High-fat, low-carbohydrate diet and the etiology of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: The San Luis Valley Diabetes Study. Am J Epidemiol 134:590–603. 

  • Mayer-Davis EJ, Monaco JH, Hoen HM, Carmichael S, Vitolins MZ, Rewers MJ, Haffner SM, Ayad MF, Bergman RN, Karter AJ. 1997. Dietary fat and insulin sensitivity in a triethnic population: The role of obesity. The Insulin Resistance Arteriosclerosis Study (IRAS). Am J Clin Nutr 65:79–87. 

  • Parker DR, Weiss ST, Troisi R, Cassano PA, Vokonas PS, Landsberg L. 1993. Relationship of dietary saturated fatty acids and body habitus to serum insulin concentrations: The Normative Aging Study. Am J Clin Nutr 58:129–136. 

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b. Saturated fat consumption has been associated with impaired insulin sensitivity

  • Vessby B, Uusitupa M, Hermansen K, Riccardi G, Rivellese AA, Tapsell LC, Nälsén C, Berglund L, Louheranta A, Rasmussen BM, Calvert GD, Maffetone A, Pedersen E, Gustafsson I-B, Storlien LH. 2001. Substituting dietary saturated for monounsaturated fat impairs insulin sensitivity in healthy men and women: The KANWU study. Diabetologia 44:312–319.

 

c. However, saturated fat consumption has also been associated with no adverse effect on indicators of diabetes risk

  • Fasching P, Ratheiser K, Schneeweiss B, Rohac M, Nowotny P, Waldhausl W. 1996. No effect of short-term dietary supplementation of saturated and poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids on insulin secretion and sensitivity in healthy men. Ann Nutr Metab 40:116–122. 

  • Roche HM, Zampelas A, Jackson KG, Williams CM, Gibney MJ. 1998. The effect of test meal monounsaturated fatty acid:saturated fatty acid ratio on postprandial lipid metabolism. Br J Nutr 79:419–424. 

  • Thomsen C, Rasmussen O, Christiansen C, Pedersen E, Vesterlund M, Storm H, Ingerslev J, Hermansen K. 1999. Comparison of the effects of a mono- unsaturated fat diet and a high carbohydrate diet on cardiovascular risk factors in first degree relatives to type-2 diabetic subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr 52:818–823. 

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d. Fatty acids in blood have been identified as a potential contributor to the development of impaired insulin sensitivity

  • Shulman GI: Cellular mechanisms of insulin resistance. J Clin Invest 2000, 106:171-176. 

  • Roden M: How free fatty acids inhibit glucose utilization in human skeletal muscle. News Physiol Sci 2004, 19:92-96. 

  • Griffin ME, Marcucci MJ, Cline GW, Bell K, Barucci N, Lee D, Goodyear LJ, Kraegen EW, White MF, Shulman GI: Free fatty acid-induced insulin resistance is associated with activation of protein kinase C theta and alterations in the insulin signaling cascade. Diabetes 1999, 48:1270-1274. 

  • Yu C, Chen Y, Cline GW, Zhang D, Zong H, Wang Y, Bergeron R, Kim JK, Cushman SW, Cooney GJ, Atcheson B, White MF, Kraegen EW, Shulman GI: Mechanism by which fatty acids inhibit insulin activation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1)-associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity in muscle. J Biol Chem 2002, 277:50230-50236. 

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