More animal fat & less veg oils = longevity!

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1. New study on the topics of mono-unsaturated and saturated versus polyunsaturated fats:

"Lipidomics of Familial Longevity.", by Gonzalez-Covarrubias V, et al.
Aging Cell. 2013 Mar 2. doi: 10.1111/acel.12064. [Epub ahead of print]

Quote:

In addition, the longevity-associated lipid profile was characterized by a higher ratio of monounsaturated (MUFA) over polyunsaturated (PUFA) lipid species suggesting that female offspring have a plasma lipidome less prone to oxidative stress. Ether PC and SM species were identified as novel longevity markers in females, independent of total triglycerides levels. Several longevity-associated lipids correlated with a lower risk of hypertension and diabetes in the Leiden Longevity Study cohort.

2. Longevity marker = MUFA/PUFA ratio in cellullar membranes:

"Fatty acid profile of erythrocyte membranes as possible biomarker of longevity.", Puca AA, et al., Rejuvenation Res. 2008 Feb;11(1):63-72.

Quote:

Erythrocyte membranes from nonagenarian offspring had significantly higher content of C16:1 n-7, trans C18:1 n-9,[mono-unsaturated] and total trans-fatty acids, and reduced content of C18:2 n-6 and C20:4 n-6 [polyunsaturated fats].

(comments in brackets added by me)

3. Vegetable oils strongly impair absorption of vitamin D, no good if you are vegan:

"Type of dietary fat is associated with the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 increment in response to vitamin D supplementation.",Niramitmahapanya S, Harris SS, Dawson-Hughes B., J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Oct;96(10):3170-4. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-1518. Epub 2011 Aug 3.

Quote:

The change in plasma 25OHD (nanograms per milliliter) during vitamin D supplementation was positively associated with MUFA, (β = 0.94; P = 0.016), negatively associated with PUFA, (β = -0.93; P = 0.038), and positively associated with the MUFA/PUFA ratio (β = 6.46; P = 0.014).

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Other interesting sources:

forum/sci.med.nutrition

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Comment on the particular vegetable fats that have similar composition to animal fats.

When refering to "vegetable oils" I have to make an exception to olive oil, coconut fat and palm oil.   Those particular fats are much lower in polyunsaturated fats than other vegetable fats and thus resemble animal fats.  Unsurprisingly, their physiological effects are different from those of other seeds and nuts oils, see my previous blog post.  For example, olive oil is mostly monounsaturated fat, thus in the light of the above study using the MUFA/PUFA ratio, olive oil adds to the nominator of the ratio alongside the animal fats.  I would express it as follows: the higher this ratio  (animal fat + olive oil + coconut fat) / (other vegetable oils) the lower the risk.

Olive oil composition:

 The average fatty acid composition of olive oil is 78-83% in mono-unsaturated oleic acid, 6-9% in essential polyunsaturated linoleic acid, 8-15% in saturated palmitic acid and 1.5-3% in stearic acid.
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