Canola oil can help reduce belly fat, a new study has found.
About 20 per cent of adults in Canada have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions — including belly fat — that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Researchers at the University of Manitoba, Laval University, and Penn State University tested five types of oils and found a significant decrease in abdominal fat of subjects on the canola and high-oleic canola oil diets.
“These results are likely due to the monounsaturated or ‘good’ fat that makes up a large part of canola and high-oleic canola oil,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University who oversaw the study.
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“This adds to the growing body of research that monounsaturated fat may help to decrease abdominal fat and improve markers of cardiovascular health as well.”
The researchers conducted a clinical trial with 101 participants to compare the effects of five oils: canola oil; high-oleic canola oil; high-oleic canola oil with DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid); a corn and safflower oil blend; and a flax and safflower oil blend. The oils were consumed in smoothies twice a day as part of the participants’ daily diet. The subjects were randomized to a sequence of the five diets, which they followed for four weeks at a time with a period of four weeks in between during which they followed their usual diet. All of the participants had central obesity and at least one additional risk factor for metabolic syndrome — high blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides or low “good” HDL cholesterol.
At the end of the two-year study, researchers not only saw a significant decrease in abdominal fat mass in those on the canola and high-oleic canola oil diets but also a decrease in blood pressure.
“We’ll often see an improvement in other markers of metabolic syndrome, like blood pressure, when abdominal fat is decreased,” said Peter Jones, director of the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba.
“The results of this study suggest that using a monounsaturated fat-based oil, like canola oil, may have a positive impact on public health by helping to decrease risk for metabolic syndrome.”
The findings were released last month during ObesityWeek, an annual conference focused on obesity science.
