Dr. Tony Woolfson Explains Cis-Fats and Diabetes

Cis-fats may prove to be a vital part of finding a diabetes cure for Type 2 through diet. When you read about fats you will come across many different terms. You may find them very baffling, and to understand them fully does actually need a knowledge of biochemistry at degree level. You don't need that depth of knowledge though to get a grasp is what is important in your diabetes diet. You don't go into a shop and ask for mono-unsaturated fatty acids, but you do need to know what types of fats or oils contain them.

The biochemical name for fats is triglycerides. This is because they are made up of three fatty acid molecules attached to a glycerol molecule. Fatty acids are formed by long chains of carbon atoms, together with carbon and hydrogen. Each carbon atom has four possible links to other atoms. Two attach it to the carbon atoms on each side in the chain and the other two are usually attached to hydrogen atoms. Sometimes, instead of a single link between carbon atoms there is a double link (double bond), so there is only one link to a hydrogen atom.

Fats with only single bonds between the carbon atoms and the maximum number of hydrogen atoms are called saturated fats. If there is just one double bond the are called mono-unsaturated fatty acids. If there is more than one double bond they are called poly-unsaturated. The double bonds of fatty acids may twist the chain in two different directions, making the carbon chain straight or more curly. If a double bond tends to keep the chain straight it is known as a trans bond. If it tends to kink the chain, it is known as a cis bond.

It is possible to force extra hydrogen atoms into the double bond links, making them single bonds and taking on extra hydrogen atoms in the carbon chain. This process is called hydrogenation. By and large, it is mono- or polyunsaturated cis-fats that occur naturally in oils of various types. Trans-fats are widely made and used in the processing of foods because the addition of the hydrogen atoms in straighter molecule chains makes the fats solid rather than liquid, and because it was believed that these fats were less unhealthy than saturated fats. In fact, the very opposite may be the case, since trans-fats are now known to damage cell membranes. Some people believe that the toxic effects of trans-fats may actually be the cause of Type 2 diabetes, and that cis-fats in a diabetic diet may offer the hope of a diabetes cure

There is increasing evidence of the importance of cis mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Most studies have found that these oils, as part of a diabetes diet in which fat provides up to 30% of the calories helps control of blood glucose and improves the cholesterol profile, providing protection against coronary heart disease. This approach may improve blood pressure and a number of other risk factors too.

The oils which contain the highest amounts of healthy fats are flax (linseed) oil, hemp oil and fish oils. Olive oil is also good. Margarines contain large quantities of trans-fats, as do many "junk" foods", and these should be avoided whether or not you have diabetes.

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