from the listen-to-your-grandma-and-take-your-cod-liver-oil dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Over the past few decades, scientists have generated a pile of evidence suggesting that a diet rich in saturated fats is enough to cause heart diseases. Besides other problems like diabetes and atherosclerosis, saturated fats have also been linked to life-threatening arrhythmias.
Interestingly, based on animal and human studies, certain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids seem to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. In particular, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which is found in fish oil, not only has vasodilator and antiplatelet effects, but can even help prevent atrial fibrillation and other arrythmias. Despite EPA being readily available as a dietary supplement, the effect of EPA on cardiomyocytes and their underlying mechanisms of action are not fully understood.
In a recent study published online in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, a research team from Japan set out to bridge this knowledge gap. Led by Associate Professor Masaki Morishima from Kindai University, they investigated the role of EPA in inducing long-term electrical changes in cultured mouse cardiomyocytes using a variety of bioanalytical techniques. Their research article was co-authored by Dr. Katsushige Ono from Oita University and Dr. Kazuki Horikawa from Tokushima University.
The main focus of this work was on how an oleic acid/palmitic acid mixture (OAPA), two well-studied saturated fats, impact calcium homeostasis in cardiomyocytes by affecting Ca2+ ion channels, and whether EPA can rescue these changes and restore normal functioning.
[...] Put together, this study has shed some much needed light on the underlying mechanisms by which EPA could bolster heart health. “Although there are techniques and drugs to control arrythmias, methods to prevent them have not been established,” remarks Dr. Morishima. Adding further, she states, “The results of our study suggest that EPA has a protective effect on cardiomyocytes by normalizing abnormalities caused by the intake of excessive amounts of saturated fatty acids, which occurs in high-fat diets.”
The team envisions that these findings will pave the way for smarter dietary choices and new health guidelines. “While research on nutrients and disease prevention can take a long time, studies like ours lay the groundwork for practical nutritional strategies that could seamlessly fit into everyday diet,” concludes Dr. Morishima, hoping for a healthier future.
Reference: “Eicosapentaenoic Acid Rescues Cav1.2-L-Type Ca2+ Channel Decline Caused by Saturated Fatty Acids via Both Free Fatty Acid Receptor 4-Dependent and -Independent Pathways in Cardiomyocytes” by Masaki Morishima et al., 9 July 2024, International Journal of Molecular Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25147570
(Score: 2, Interesting) by shrewdsheep on Friday August 30, @11:03AM (3 children)
It is well known for along time (> 40 yrs) that fatty acid composition including other lipophilic substances such as cholesterol are important to determine viscosity of cell membranes. For example, presence of cholesterol in the membrane is essential for the functioning of neurons. TLDR, accepting their conclusion for a moment, I surmise that this cannot be the full answer. Changing the viscosity should have a much broader impact than just influencing Ca2+ channels. Proving causality of their finding would require to directly modify the Ca2+ channels.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Username on Friday August 30, @01:43PM (2 children)
What I don't get is that humans generate saturated fats just by eating any food. It's a natural process. If it's unhealthy why aren't we all dying from it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by dwilson on Friday August 30, @04:48PM (1 child)
I'd imagine it's an issue of how much and where. If the body is naturally generating saturated fats as part of the metabolic process, dumping a bunch more in to the input side of that process is bound to cause problems, whether it's from increasing the overall amount or by introducing them at a stage where they aren't found naturally.
To use the 'car analogy', a gasoline engine produces quite a bit of water out the tailpipe as part of the combustion process. If I start dumping water in at the beginning of that process (fuel tank) rather than the end (tail pipe), I'm going to have a Bad Day sooner rather than later.
- D
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 31, @02:35AM
See water injection - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_injection_(engine) [wikipedia.org]
TLDR; In certain conditions, small amounts of water added to the fuel will help an engine make more power...by cooling hot spots that otherwise would cause detonation (pinging).
(Score: 3, Informative) by hendrikboom on Friday August 30, @04:56PM (3 children)
The body synthesizes the cholesterol it needs from the fats you eat.
Cholesterol you eat is not absorbed from foods you eat.
Which is why to avoid artery-choking cholesterol, you need to reduce your intake of saturated fats.
Saying food is "cholesterol-free" is more a matter of advertising than actual health advice.
I learned this from my wife, who was a doctor.
(Score: 2, Informative) by shrewdsheep on Friday August 30, @06:37PM (2 children)
I suggest that you might have misunderstood your wife. Selective uptake of lipophilic molecules is difficult on chemical grounds and I am not aware of such mechanisms in humans. Standard references also suggest otherwise (e.g. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001031). [ahajournals.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by hendrikboom on Friday August 30, @08:31PM (1 child)
Yes, I may have misunderstood her. Unfortunately, I can no longer check with her, because she died a few years ago. Or maybe we know more now than we did before.
Thank you for the link.
-- hendrik
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Sunday September 01, @08:08AM
More than you probably want to know about cholesterol metabolism and homeostasis,
Cholesterol metabolism: physiological regulation and diseases [nih.gov]
Dietary saturated fat and cholesterol affect the rather complex homeostasis system in not-well-understood ways. The whole system itself is not easy to describe simply. Bodies are complicated. Most people's simplified model of 'how my body works' (including my model/understanding: I am not a biologist/biochemist/physiologist/...) does not capture the complexity required to understand the system. In the same way, most car drivers are not expert car mechanics (cars are far simpler systems than human bodies, even with the extensive inclusion of microprocessors and software).