Monounsaturated Fatty Acids와 혈중 Cholesterol

There have been growing interests in olive oil, which is attributed to the beneficial health effects of the Mediterranean diet. Numerous studies suggest that oleic acid, the major fatty acid in olive oil, may contribute to less incidence of coronary heart disease(CHD) in the Mediterranean area. Although the major effects of high monounsaturated fatty acid(MUFA) consumption on lowered plasma cholesterol are generally attributed to the consequential replacement of saturated fatty acid in diets, some studies have shown a modest cholesterol lowering effect of MUFA alone when it replaces dietary carbohydrate at an equal amount of energy. Furthermore, MUFA increases the level of the protective high-density lipoprotein cholesterol more than polyunsaturated fatty acid(PUFA) does when these two classes of fatty acids replace carbohydrates in the diet. It has been generally recommended that optimal dietary fat should be rich in MUFA, such as oleic acid, low in saturated fatty acids and provide adequate amounts of PUFA. However, no conclusive observations have been made yet mainly due to a difficulty in controlling the proportion of oleic acid without adjusting the levels of the other fatty acids to be constant, which could also affect plasma cholesterol levels. Recent findings also suggest that dietary PUFA results in higher tendency toward lipid peroxidation whereas with MUFA the susceptibility of low density lipoprotein to oxidative stress is reduced. More studies are needed to clarify the effects of MUFA on reducing the incidence of CHD.