December 22, 2015
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Diet high in medium chain fatty acids may benefit cardiac function in type 2 diabetes

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In patients with type 2 diabetes, a diet rich in medium chain fatty acids may confer cardiac benefits in relation to a diet high in long chain fatty acids, although neither diet appears to change cardiac steatosis.

Researchers evaluated 16 adults aged 37 to 65 years with type 2 diabetes to determine the effects of a medium chain fatty acid-rich diet compared with a long chain fatty acid diet on plasma lipids and cardiac steatosis and function.

Participants were free of other cardiac and systemic disease and had an ejection fraction of more than 45%. They were randomly assigned to a 14-day diet high in medium chain or long chain fatty acids.

Neither diet yielded significant changes in hemodynamics or cardiac chamber size. While stroke volume and cardiac output, which are general measures of cardiac performance, declined in response to the long chain fatty acid diet, these measures were not significantly altered in response to medium chain fatty acid. Neither diet appeared to cause significant changes in left ventricular ejection fraction. There was a significant increase in the more load-independent myocardial wall velocity during systole in response to medium chain fatty acids (P = .02) and this measure was significantly greater after dietary intervention in the medium chain fatty acid group vs. post-intervention systole in the long chain fatty acid group (P = .04).

While no differences were seen between the groups in preintervention plasma levels of any acylcarnitine or ceramide species, the medium chain fatty acid group had higher pretreatment concentrations of several sphingomyelins. All of the sphingomyelins, along with several sphingolipids, acylcarnitines and a ceramide, significantly decreased after the medium chain fatty acid intervention, while no reduction in lipid species was seen after the long chain fatty acid diet.

“Our study suggests that not all saturated fatty acids are equally detrimental to the heart,” the researchers wrote. “In this tightly controlled dietary study in subjects with type 2 diabetes, we demonstrated that [medium chain fatty acids] have possible cardiac benefits relative to [long chain fatty acids] despite the former having a higher saturated fat content.” – by Jennifer Byrne

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.