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When Dr. Stephanie Ben Watson began studying dolphins in the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammals Program, she Food pyramid On that head.
Venn-Watson, a veterinary epidemiologist who has worked in public health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the dolphins he worked with had a pretty good life. They go out to sea every day, hang out and come back, averaging 50% longer than wild dolphins. However, as in humans, as dolphins age, they have more opportunities for age-related health, including symptoms of chronic inflammation, high cholesterol, and metabolic syndrome. Also, some dolphins are smoother to get older than other dolphins.
According to Venn-Watson, the secret of healthy aged dolphins was ultimately a diet high in two odd-chain fatty acids called C17: 0 and C15: 0. The “Goldilock” for healthy aging is C15: 0. Since then, she and her team of researchers have claimed that it may help prevent prediabetes, reduce inflammation, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in humans and marine mammals.
“We were able to confirm that healthy aged dolphins had significantly higher C15: 0 and C17: 0 compared to poor aged dolphins,” says Venn-Watson.
According to Venn-Watson, the problem is that Americans have been taught to avoid some foods that contain Goldilock fat. By treating all saturated fats equally “bad”, we are missing nutrients that can help prevent general health or help us live longer. Input: Relationship with butter and whole fat dairy products.
Dolphins that ate more of a special kind of saturated fat (C15: 0) that was aged in a healthier way. Researchers believe that the same applies to humans.
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C15: What is 0?
C15: 0 or pentadecic acid is a molecule found in certain foods such as butter, full-fat dairy products, fish, beef and lambs. According to Venn-Watson, it is also present in small amounts in some plants such as chia seeds and peanuts, but it is about one-tenth the amount contained in butter servings.
In a 2020 paper published in Nature, Venn-Watson and other authors argue that C15: 0 should be considered an essential fatty acid. It is necessary for our health, functions as a component of our cells, and is found only in food sources.These are different from nutrients such as Vitamin DFor example, it is produced when our body is exposed to sunlight.
The last discovery of essential fatty acids was made in the 1920s when scientists discovered the disease in rats fed a fat-free diet.
According to Venn-Watson, C15: 0 is a fatty acid that, as seen in the Navy’s dolphin study, has the potential to delay the natural age-related degradation of our cells. And like dolphins, the human body may be wired to receive and use saturated fat. Laboratory research has revealed an intracellular receptor called PPARS. It acts like a “small hammock waiting for the right fat to land in your body.” We have left the hammock empty if Venn-Watson’s research continues to prove the power of C15: 0.
Good Fat and Bad Fat-It’s Complex
Many people have done their own tests, such as excluding different types of foods from their diet, while working on current guidance on what is good or bad for us. egg, Cooking oil When chocolate Only a few foods found between “healthy” and “unhealthy”.
For decades, Americans have been taught to avoid fatty foods for fear of leading to high cholesterol, heart disease, or other health complications. The US Senate even published nutritional guidance in 1977 that emphasized a low-fat diet.But over the years, nutritionists and nutritionists have been More and more skeptical About the practice of outlawing fatty foods, the lack of nutrients skipped when not eating fat, and the contribution of a low-fat lifestyle Eating disorders Habit.
Despite years of reduced total fat milk intake, Venn-Watson and her co-authors wrote in a 2020 Nature article about the development of type 2 diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I write that the rate is rising. Studies contradict the idea that fat is bad for you, suggesting that those who include healthy total fat in their diet may be healthier than those who stick to a fat-free diet. ..
Over the last few decades, there has been a shift to low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products.
Daniela Simona Temneanu / EyeEm / Getty Images
But it’s not easy to flip the script on how we read and report dietary guidance. The discovery of C15: 0 also does not mean that our diet needs to be completely switched to a 100% fat diet. This is because some types of fat have little or no nutritional value (for butter, it is an excellent source of C15: 0, for example). However, Venn-Watson and others who advocate increasing C15: 0 have stated that supplementing foods such as cereals, like other additional nutrients, may help.
“The concern is how to get this back into the diet, and how to revisit regulatory guidance on nutrition and saturated fat,” says Venn-Watson. (Note: Venn-Watson sells a vegan C15: 0 supplement called Fatty15. CNET has not reviewed this product.)
Does C15: 0 replace omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids as follows? the The healthiest fat? “Please wait,” says Venn-Watson. She and her team of researchers are increasingly awaiting peer review. Research is also underway on whether C15: 0 supplements in young adults at risk for metabolic syndrome benefit from more saturated fat.
Time (and more research) tells us how our dietary guidance changes to accommodate better fats like C15: 0. But if decades of focus on getting rid of fat from the diet to stop a particular illness tells us one thing, it’s not a panacea of food restrictions. about it.
Correction, 2:30 pm ET: In previous versions, the spelling of C15: 0 was C: 15: 0.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informative purposes only and is not intended for health or medical advice. Always consult your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider if you have any questions about your medical condition or health goals.
