Saturated fats like coconut oil and butter have gained heightened popularity in recent years, and there have been many reported benefits of these fats. Medium-chain fatty acids have been shown to support brain health and metabolism. Wulzen factor in grass-fed butter has been reported to help prevent certain cancers and to be a building block for hormones.
However, a new study published in Neuropsychoparmacology is looking at one potential drawback to saturated fats.
Three groups of rats were studied. The control group had a low-fat diet with equal amounts of monounsaturated and saturated fats. The second group was given a high-fat diet consisting of mostly monounsaturated fats from olive oil. The third group was given a high-fat diet consisting of saturated fat from palm oil.
Researchers found that the group of rats that were fed the palm oil diet had changes in the brain. “”We established that the rats on the palm diet had a significantly blunted dopamine function,” said Cecile Hryhorczuk, an author of the study. “Our research group and others hypothesize that this leads the brain to try to compensate by heightening reward-seeking behaviour, much like the phenomenon of drug tolerance where one has to increase the drug dose over time to get the same high. So, a person consuming too much saturated fat may then compensate a reduced reward experience by seeking out and consuming more high-fat and high-sugar foods to get the same level of pleasure or reward.”
Interestingly, all of the rats had comparable body weights, insulin levels, leptin, and glycemic control. No similar studies have been done comparing palm oil and coconut oil or butter and no other negative effects were reported. The human implications of the study are yet to be known.
My takeaway from this is that, like most things in life, moderation and variety are key. Our bodies likely thrive best with a mix fat types.