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Diabetics Benefit From Fatty Acid In Diet: Study posted 01/28/03 |
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A new study has revealed that diabetics, who added an
essential fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to their diets,
had lower body mass as well as lower blood sugar levels, according to
reports in the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers said that supplementing the diet with the fatty acid helped diabetics. Their eight-week study also revealed that higher levels of this fatty acid in the bloodstream meant lower levels of leptin, a hormone thought to regulate fat levels. Scientists think that high leptin levels may play a role in obesity, one of the biggest risk factors for adult-onset diabetes. "In previous work, we found that CLA delayed the onset of diabetes in rats," said Martha Belury, the senior author of the study and an associate professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University. "In this study, we found that it also helped improve the management of adult-onset diabetes in humans." CLA is made up of various fatty acid isomers - compounds that share the same chemical formula but differ in chemical structure. Related isomers can have very different effects. In the current study, the researchers found that one particular CLA isomer, t10c12-CLA, helped control both body weight and leptin levels. Nutritionists sometimes call this isomer the 10-12 isomer. For the study, the researchers asked 21 people with adult-onset diabetes to take either a supplement containing a mix of rumenic acid and 10-12 isomer or a safflower oil supplement as a control. The group was divided roughly in half. Rumenic acid is the predominant isomer in foods that contain CLA, while the 10-12 isomer is less abundant. Participants were instructed to take their respective supplements every day for eight weeks. "The amount of CLA, how long its taken and the type taken all impact the fatty acids ability to affect obesity in humans, and therefore help manage diabetes." While CLA supplements are available to consumers, Belury encourages diabetics to get their CLA from food sources - primarily beef, lamb and dairy products. "Not only does it taste better, its also safer and more beneficial to get the nutrients from food," she said. "Besides, we dont yet know the long-term effects of taking CLA in supplement form." At the end of the trial, the researchers took blood samples from each participant to check CLA levels. By then, fasting blood glucose levels had decreased in nine of the 11 people taking the CLA supplement, but only in two of the 10 taking safflower supplements, meaning that CLA was helping to control certain symptoms of diabetes. Fasting blood glucose levels decreased nearly five-fold in patients taking CLA, compared to patients taking the safflower oil. Source: Navatal.com: ANI. |
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