FAT AND INFLAMMATION

Written by missblasco on 30 de November de 2021. Posted in BLOG.

It is well known that for a long time the message has been transmitted that fats in the diet are to blame for the high incidence of cardiovascular diseases and other known diseases that are part of what we know as Metabolic Syndrome.

The reasons why this has been happening in recent decades are many and varied.

In this article I wrote about the demonization of fat as a macronutrient in the diet, but now I am interested in talking about lipids in the diet from a biochemical point of view.

That is, to influence the changes that occur in the molecules of our body and in the chemical processes that occur after their ingestion.

Let’s start by putting everything in its place, you already know that when we talk about macronutrients We are referring to proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

The consumption of fat in the diet is often associated with inflammation, but this does not have to be true.

And let’s start with a simple idea, all three are important, but there is one that can be dispensed with without risk of death, while the other two are essential, and I suppose you have already guessed who is who.

Proteins and fats are essential because without them our body cannot function, carbohydrates, on the other hand, are dispensable, but with this I do not mean that you should not consume them, I am only showing the degree of importance of each of them.

caballa en escabeche — Mackerel in escabeche

In this post I want to talk about fats and their relationship with inflammation, when we talk about diet, associating fat consumption with inflammation is simplifying things.

Fats are essential in the diet, we know of their biological importance and their role in the body, but we must know which fats are optimal and which ones we should avoid at all costs. coast.

As many of you already know, there are saturated and unsaturated fats. Saturated fatty acids are found mainly in foods of animal origin, and also in some plant foods, for example palmitic acid in palm oil and stearic acid in cereals, cocoa, and palm.

Unsaturated fatty acids can be monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, an example of the former is oleic acid because it only has one double bond, and we find it in olive oil.

Olive oil contains oleic acid, which is monounsaturated and belongs to the Omega-9 family.

Two examples of polyunsaturated fatty acids are:

Linoleic (with two double bonds), which belongs to the series Omega-6 because the first double bond is at carbon 6, is found in vegetable oils, such as soybean, safflower, or corn, as well as nuts, seeds, and some vegetables.

It is curious that animals, but not plants, are able to convert it into arachidonic acid, this can cause a problem because eicosanoids derived from Omega-6, mainly arachidonic acid (precursor of prostaglandins), promote the inflammatory response, while those derived from Omega−3 are weak promoters of inflammation and are even considered anti-inflammatory because they reduce the production of inflammatory eicosanoids by inhibiting the metabolism of arachidonic acid, and also because they regulate the expression of inflammatory genes.

In the case of humans, young women have a greater capacity to carry out this transformation due to high levels of estrogen.

Another example of a polyunsaturated fatty acid is linolenic acid,(with three double bonds), belongs to the Omega-3 series, and has been called vitamin F even though it is not. Among its functions are the regulation of blood pressure, blood clotting and immune response, the maintenance of cellular structures, and it participates in growth processes.

Linoleic and linolenic acids are essential, since our body is unable to synthesize them.

Knowing that they are essential fatty acids (EFAs), we must take into account the amount of each of them that is provided with the diet, a 1:1 ratio may be valid, but generally the balance is unbalanced in favor of Omega 6 which, as I have already mentioned, can change to arachidonic acid, a precursor to the dreaded eicosanoids, triggers of inflammation.

In the relationship between fats and inflammation: Anti-inflammatory diet.
Here is a meta-analysis on the intake of Omega-3 fatty acids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Gioxari, A., Kaliora, A. C., Marantidou, F., & Panagiotakos, D. P. (2018). Intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.), 45, 114–124.e4.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2017.06.023

Saturated fats are directly blamed for causing hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis, but there are studies that say otherwise. Let’s not forget that the sale of statins is very lucrative. It is refined carbohydrates and vegetable oils that cause it, along with stress and current living conditions.

The following study shows how dietary carbohydrate restriction improves metabolic syndrome, independent of weight loss.

Hyde, P. N., Sapper, T. N., Crabtree, C. D., LaFountain, R. A., Bowling, M. L., Buga, A., Fell, B., McSwiney, F. T., Dickerson, R. M., Miller, V. J., Scandling, D., Simonetti, O. P., Phinney, S. D., Kraemer, W. J., King, S. A., Krauss, R. M., & Volek, J. S. (2019). Dietary carbohydrate restriction improves metabolic syndrome independent of weight loss. JCI insight, 4(12), e128308.https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.128308

Avoiding trans fats in the diet is vitally important, they cause an inflammatory response in our body.

And finally, we should mention the trans fats that we should always avoid. These fats are unsaturated and although we can find them in nature, for example elaidic acid (which is an isomer of oleic acid), they are usually of industrial origin, they are the result of the hydrogenation of some animal fats to make them solids and improve their stability, for example the case of margarine.

The following study carried out in Slovenia shows how the intake of trans fats from industrial products worsened cholesterol and triglyceride levels, increased the inflammatory response and increased deaths from coronary heart failure. And how for every 2% of daily energy consumed from trans fats, the incidence of cardiovascular disease increased by 23%.

Zupanič, N., Hribar, M., Hristov, H., Lavriša, Ž., Kušar, A., Gregorič, M., Blaznik, U., Koroušić Seljak, B., Golja, P., Vidrih, R., Žmitek, K., & Pravst, I. (2021). Dietary Intake of trans Fatty Acids in the Slovenian Population. Nutrients, 13(1), 207. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010207

Therefore, fats YES, but not all and in adequate quantities.

Foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids:

Sardines, mackerel, salmon and cod liver with its oil are the oily fish that provide the most Omega-3 acids to the diet. If we look at foods of plant origin, walnuts and flax and chia seeds are the protagonists.

Foods rich in fatty acids Omega-6:

Omega-6s are easier to obtain through diet, but as I mentioned before, you shouldn’t overdo it. The Omega-6 vs Omega-3 ratio should be 4:1 or ilower.

Foods that contain Omega-6 fatty acids are nuts, cereals, soy, water, most vegetable foods, vegetables and corn.

Low degree inflammation maintenance is responsible for many chronic illnesses.

Recommended readings about inflammation:

Hutchinson, A. N., Tingö, L., & Brummer, R. J. (2020). The Potential Effects of Probiotics and ω-3 Fatty Acids on Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation.Nutrients, 12(8), 2402. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082402
Scanzello C. R. (2017). Role of low-grade inflammation in osteoarthritis. Current opinion in rheumatology, 29(1), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/BOR.0000000000000353
Osimo, E. F., Baxter, L. J., Lewis, G., Jones, P. B., & Khandaker, G. M. (2019). Prevalence of low-grade inflammation in depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of CRP levels. Psychological medicine, 49(12), 1958–1970. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719001454
Viljoen, M., & Thomas Neé Negrao, B. L. (2021). Low-grade systemic inflammation and the workplace.Work (Reading, Mass.), 69(3), 903–915. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-213523