Breaking
FoodNerdy Recipes Management System
Tag

fatty

Browsing
health

Researchers are Investigating The Cause of Fatty Liver: a Specific Protein Counteracts The Development of Fatty Liver

Fatty liver is often triggered by a combination of causes. On the one hand due to the wrong diet and too little exercise, but on the other hand also due to epigenetic factors. Here’s what you can do to reduce heart disease and cancer from fatty liver.

Fatty Liver: The most common liver disease

No, Ali Canbay doesn’t want to scare anyone, but he does want to shake them up. After all, it is a threatening scenario: If someone is overweight and also has diabetes, then there is a high probability that they also suffer from fatty liver, says the professor. According to the German Liver Aid, non-alcoholic fatty liver is already the most common liver finding in this country, i.e. the most common liver disease – and also a kind of “accelerator” for other chronic liver diseases.

Fatty liver leads to coronary artery disease

But that’s not all: If you have a fatty liver, you will also get coronary heart disease in a few decades, warns Canbay, director of the clinic for gastroenterology, hepatology and infectiology at the University Hospital Magdeburg. Because the liver is a power machine for the entire body. And if this power machine no longer works properly due to obesity, substances would be released that attack the coronary arteries. Conclusion: Canbay warns that if you suffer from fatty liver and do nothing about it, you are more likely to develop heart disease or even a heart attack.

Genetic factors in the development of fatty liver

Researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research e. V. (DZD) have discovered new genes that play a role in the development of fatty liver. In both humans and mice, these genes ensure the production of regulatory proteins that counteract fat accumulation in the liver. However, if there is a genetic change, fewer of these proteins are produced.

Studies confirmed that the livers of patients and mice with non-alcoholic fatty liver have far lower levels of the protein. In the mouse, these are the proteins IFGGA2 and IFGGA4. In humans, the protein is called IRGM (immunity-related GTPase M = immunity-related protein of the GTPase family M), which increases a certain form of fat breakdown and thus counteracts the development of fatty liver.

“Our work has identified other important genes that cause fatty liver disease. In addition, the study results deepen our understanding of which cellular processes must be stimulated to counteract fatty liver,” summarizes Professor Annette Schürmann, head of the Experimental Diabetology department at the German Institute for Nutrition Research Potsdam Brücke and spokeswoman for the DZD.

Healthy diet and exercise as a solution to fatty liver

The disease is often not triggered by excessive alcohol consumption or fatty food, as was previously assumed, but by a lack of exercise and an associated excessive body weight. professor dr Michael P. Manns, CEO of the German Liver Foundation, says that the causes of fatty liver usually occur in combination. It is a well-known fact that poor nutrition and lack of exercise often lead to obesity, which, according to the expert, is also one of the triggering factors.

Losing weight reduces liver fat and fibrosis

Since the drug treatment of fatty liver is still difficult because various drugs are still being developed, according to Professor Manns, weight loss is at least one effective method. Because: A “reduction in body weight always leads to a reduction in liver fat and fibrosis,” says Professor Manns.

The fact that there is a direct connection between liver health and body weight or physical activity is being confirmed in more and more study results. In many cases, a weight loss of just ten percent causes the regression of non-alcoholic fatty liver and an improvement in liver fibrosis.

Fatty liver as a basis for liver cirrhosis and liver cancer

In a recent article in the journal, researchers Norbert Stefan, Hans-Ulrich Häring and Kenneth Cusi point out the need for new treatment methods. Because personalized therapies and the combination of different treatment options would offer the best chances of recovery in the future.

It is well known that drinking too much alcohol is harmful to the liver. Anyone who drinks may set a fateful cascade in motion: the liver becomes fatty, later it becomes inflamed, then the connective tissue multiplies (fibrosis), and finally cirrhosis of the liver occurs, the scarred remodeling of the organ that performs its numerous vital tasks in human metabolism consequently can no longer fulfil. In a small percentage it even develops into liver cell cancer.

So much for the possible processes in the event of excessive alcohol consumption. But the chain reaction can also take place without alcohol. For example, if someone is overweight – and as is well known, overweight has increased sharply worldwide in recent decades.

endless suffering of the liver

A fatty liver usually causes hardly any symptoms. At best, feelings of pressure in the upper right abdomen, tiredness and concentration problems are mentioned by the German Liver Aid as possible symptoms. A “non-alcoholic fatty liver” (NAFL) is therefore often an incidental finding during a health check by the family doctor. But most doctors said it wasn’t that bad. “Fatty liver is much more dangerous than we think,” says the expert.

Together with his team, he has published a publication that states that the function of a fatty liver is already restricted, even if you can’t see anything of it. Unlike alcoholic liver disease, NAFL, as the name suggests, has nothing to do with drinking too much alcohol, but rather with poor diet and lack of exercise. Both factors played a “decisive role” – and are widespread.

Intestinal germs: Interesting for fatty liver research

The development of a fatty liver is extremely complex and depends on various factors. The colonization of the intestine with germs, the so-called microbiome, has also increasingly become the focus of scientific interest in fatty liver. “We know that the microbiome plays a big role,” says Canbay. He recently reported on this at the German Microbiome Days.

It seems that the community of intestinal germs has changed in overweight or fatty liver patients. The ratio between the Firmicutes and Bacteroides bacterial groups is shifted in favor of Firmicutes, which can increase the energy yield from food.

Against fatty liver: exercise and a healthy diet

It is known that Firmicutes could extract many more calories from food than the Bacteroides. The Firmicutes would be fed with carbohydrate-rich food and fast food. One day probiotics may help, or stool transplants, that is, a transfer of “good” bacteria from healthy, lean people to those who suffer from obesity and fatty liver.

Until then, lifestyle changes are the only way to get rid of the fat in the liver. The expert advises more exercise in everyday life and a change in diet with more vegetables and not too much fruit. Because fruit contains fruit sugar (fructose), which is known to promote fatty liver. He recommends his patients a protein-rich, not too fatty diet with few carbohydrates and plenty of salad: “Meat and salad is great,” he says, and “You can eat anything

Keep Reading
By
Food

Lauric Acid: Occurrence and Effect of The Fatty Acid

Lauric acid is mainly obtained from laurel and used to make soap. But it is also an important component of coconut oil. In this article you can read everything you need to know about lauric acid.

Lauric acid – This is where it comes from

Lauric acid is a medium-chain saturated fatty acid named after the Latin name for laurel (Laurus nobilis). Because: The oil of the laurel plant consists mainly of lauric acid.

Lauric acid is found in the following foods:
The fruits of the laurel contain a fatty oil. This consists mainly of lauric acid.
Coconut oil is particularly well known for its lauric acid content. Cold-pressed coconut oil consists of 45 to 60 percent lauric acid.
Lauric acid is also found in palm oil.
Lauric acid is also found in breast milk, but in much lower concentrations.
Lauric acid is also found in small amounts in butter and other milk fats.

effect of lauric acid

Lauric acid is primarily said to have health-promoting effects. However, it is not entirely undisputed:
Since lauric acid is a saturated fatty acid, it is suspected of raising cholesterol levels, which in turn increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The Federal Center for Nutrition is also critical of coconut oil for this reason.
According to other research, however, lauric acid contains what is known as HDL cholesterol, which helps to protect the blood vessels. It supports the human circulatory system and reduces the risk of metabolic disease.
Compared to the problematic trans fats, lauric acid ultimately contributes to a better lipid profile and thus cholesterol levels (study). HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) is raised more than LDL cholesterol (which is considered the “bad” cholesterol).
For this reason, you should only use cold-pressed (native) coconut oil! If coconut oil is refined, the problematic trans fats are created. Then you can no longer benefit from the benefits of lauric acid.
The lauric acid also has an antimicrobial effect, as a study from 2009 shows. It provides effective protection against viruses, bacteria and fungal infections – which is also the reason why it is found in human and other mammalian breast milk.
It is also believed that lauric acid helps diabetics absorb insulin better. However, these are relatively new and not yet sufficiently substantiated conjectures.
The acid could also help with weight loss: the enzymes in lauric acid are broken down faster than other fats, which stimulates the metabolism. However, this is also not conclusively proven.
Because of its smell, lauric acid protects against ticks and some insects. Simply rub your skin (especially the exposed areas) with some coconut oil.
Similarly, lauric acid acts against mites, fleas, lice and other parasites. Rubbing coconut oil on pets and farm animals such as dogs or horses can help.
In addition, coconut oil is said to provide the muscles with energy quickly and help against muscle tension due to the lauric acid, among other things. You can rub affected muscle parts. This can help both prophylactically and with tension.

Keep Reading
By
health

Fish Oil for the Supply of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Fish oil is a fatty oil made from various types of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, anchovies, herring, or mackerel. They contain a high percentage of the polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

High-fat fish is considered one of the best sources of unsaturated fat, but meat, vegetable oils, nuts, and avocados are also high in these long-chain, healthy fats. Supplemented with vitamin E, which binds individual oxygen particles – the so-called free radicals – in the body and thus helps to prevent inflammation.

Supply of the body with unsaturated fatty acids

Anyone who doesn’t like fish but suffers from arteriosclerosis – the increasing narrowing and stiffening of blood vessels due to cholesterol deposits – could use fish oil to improve the transport of oxygenated blood. Unsaturated fatty acids support the flexibility of the cell membrane, and the brain also consists largely of fats. The polyunsaturated DHA plays a key role here. In addition, unsaturated fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory effect, are precursors of hormones, and ensure increased cell division.

Unsaturated fatty acids – often also referred to as “good fatty acids” – have a high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids or alpha-linolenic acid and omega-6 fatty acids or linoleic acid, which are considered good fats from a health point of view because they help lower cholesterol levels in the body. If the cholesterol level in the body is too high, cardiovascular diseases are the result. Therefore, many doctors are demanding that such fats should be included in the diet – also because the human body cannot produce them itself, but has to absorb them through food.

Fats are necessary for everybody – they provide energy and, together with proteins and carbohydrates, are one of the three basic building blocks of human nutrition. But the fats are also divided into three groups:

Saturated Fatty Acids

Saturated fatty acids consist primarily of highly processed animal fats. Butter and cheese are classic examples here. If too much butter is consumed, the cholesterol level of the damaging LDL cholesterol in the blood rises.

Monounsaturated fatty acids

Monounsaturated fatty acids can be produced by the body itself, but are also found in rapeseed and olive oil. With their help, the blood cholesterol level can be neutralized again or at least improved.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential, i.e. they cannot be produced by the body itself. It is, therefore, necessary to supply them with food. Omega-6 fatty acids are mainly found in high-quality vegetable oils.

The “German Society for Nutrition” (DGE) recommends that between 7 and 10 percent of the total daily energy intake should consist of unsaturated fatty acids. However, studies have shown that people are increasingly consuming so-called “bad” or “saturated” fats and that this eating behavior leads to more health problems.

Fish oil for the supply of unsaturated fatty acids

Longer-term studies observing the effects of regular fish consumption (once or twice a week) have clearly shown heart health benefits. If you like to eat fish, however, you should not resort to dietary supplements such as fish oil, but adjust your own diet accordingly. If you can’t taste fatty fish and seafood and still want to eat more unsaturated fatty acids, there is high-quality fish oil for you or you can reduce your meat consumption.

Fish oil also has an antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory effect. As a dietary supplement, it is taken in the form of soft capsules to ensure a sufficient supply of essential omega-3 fatty acids and to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Omega-3 fatty acids are also a good way to achieve healthy cholesterol levels. However, fish oil capsules can also lead to side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, or belching.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Arachidonic Acid: These Foods Contain The Fatty Acid

The immune system does not work without arachidonic acid – the immune system reacts sensitively if the amounts are too large. If you eat a balanced diet and avoid certain foods, the fatty acid will not cause you any problems.

What the body needs arachidonic acid for

Arachidonic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid that belongs to the group of omega-6 fatty acids. It is mainly found in animal foods: Larger amounts are mainly found in meat, animal fats such as butter and offal.

The arachidonic acid provides the building blocks for hormones with which the body can activate the immune system. The counterpart, the off switch so to speak, is mainly provided by the omega-3 fatty acids.

But arachidonic acid is not one of the essential fatty acids in the narrower sense.

The science magazine Spektrum explains why: the body can absorb arachidonic acid from meals, but it can also produce it itself from linoleic acid. Therefore, arachidonic acid is one of the semi-essential fatty acids.
Linoleic acid, on the other hand, is an essential fatty acid: the body cannot produce it itself, but can only absorb it from food. Linoleic acid is found in plant foods such as sunflower oil or walnuts, but also in meat and dairy products.

Arachidonic acid: These foods are particularly high

Some foods are particularly high in arachidonic acid. If you suffer from rheumatism or arthrosis, you should remove them from your diet if possible. Otherwise, it is recommended not to take them in large quantities.

These animal products are rich in arachidonic acid (the information relates to 100 grams):
Pork Lard: Contains 1.7 grams of arachidonic acid — by far the most of the products on this list. Attention: Pastries with lard, such as shortbread cookies and other Christmas cookies, often contain large amounts of the problematic fatty acid.
Liver and Liverwurst:
Pork liver (870 milligrams)
Calf liver (352 milligrams)
Liverwurst (230 milligrams)
pork (120 milligrams) and streaky bacon (250 milligrams).
Fish: Some types of fish not only contain omega-3 fatty acids, but also arachidonic acid. These include above all:
Salmon (300 milligrams)
Tuna (280 milligrams)
Redfish (240 milligrams)
Carp (190 milligrams)
Eel (120 milligrams)
Chicken eggs: On average, you get about 70 milligrams of arachidonic acid with eggs. It mainly collects in the yolk – 100 grams of yolk contain almost 300 milligrams.

These animal products, on the other hand, contain less arachidonic acid:
Poultry: The lean brisket is better suited to a low-arachidon diet: chicken contains an average of 112 milligrams and turkey 50 milligrams. The meat on the legs contains more of the fatty acid: chicken has 190 milligrams and turkey 150 milligrams.
Beef or veal: fillets and lean muscle meat contain relatively little arachidonic acid. There are 53 milligrams in 100 grams of veal and around 70 milligrams in 100 grams of beef.
Dairy products:
Butter (83 milligrams)
Fatty cheeses such as Camembert (34 milligrams at 60 percent fat) or Tilsiter (27 milligrams)
whipping cream (32 milligrams)

Keep Reading
By
health

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: The Fat is Important, The Capsules Are Expensive

Omega-3 fatty acids are supposed to be important in some way. But does that also apply to fish oil dragees and omega-3 capsules? And what is the role of omega-3 fatty acids anyway?

The benefit is simply not sufficiently proven. This applies to healthy people as well as to high-risk patients who have already had a heart attack. The experts also found insufficient evidence for other areas of application such as the prevention of dementia or age-related eye diseases.

This is important because many people spend a lot on omega-3 fatty acids, up to 90 cents a day. According to the test, the need for omega-3 fatty acids can be met even without fish, for example with rapeseed and linseed oil or walnuts. According to the German Society for Nutrition, people in this country are adequately supplied with plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

Background: Omega 3 and fatty acids

Basically, you have to distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids belong to the group of unsaturated fatty acids.

Saturated fats are easy to recognize: they are solid at room temperature. This includes all animal fats and, for example, palm oil. Saturated fatty acids are not essential to life, and if consumed in excess, they are even considered harmful, partly because of their increasing effect on blood cholesterol levels.
Unsaturated fats are more complicated because there are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fatty acids are found, for example, in olive oil, canola oil and many nuts and seeds. The body is able to produce these monounsaturated fatty acids itself; they are therefore not essential.
The polyunsaturated fatty acids include omega-3 fatty acids such as α-linolenic acid and also omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid, which is contained in safflower oil or sunflower oil. The body cannot produce polyunsaturated fatty acids – such as linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid – so they are essential.

The three omega-3 fatty acids

Does the “omega-3” fatty acid even exist? No: In reality there are many different ones, of which only three are well known because they are particularly important for the human metabolism:
α-linolenic acid,
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
Vegetable food contains almost exclusively α-linolenic acid, fatty fish such as eel, herring or sardines contain DHA and EPA. There is a herbal exception for DHA and EPA: algae. Red algae in particular contain the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids otherwise only found in fish.

Function of omega-3 fatty acids

The list of processes in which omega-3 fatty acids are involved in the body and their properties is long. However, this shows how important such high-quality fats are for our body – it just doesn’t work completely without fat. The omega-3 fatty acids are involved in

the structure of cell membranes,
the hormone production,
the correct function of eyes, nerves and muscles.
Omega-3 fatty acids improve blood flow,
prevent thrombosis,
work against inflammation,
support the immune system,
promote blood circulation,
EPA and DHA fatty acids lower blood lipid levels,
α-linolenic acid ensures bone stability,
DHA DHA lowers blood pressure and supports fetal brain development.
Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
This list is just a sample of the many functions of omega-3 fatty acids, showing how important these essential fatty acids are to the human body.

Omega 3 deficiency?

A lack of essential fatty acids leads to various deficiency symptoms such as skin changes (excessive keratinization), susceptibility to infections, growth disorders, hair loss and a lack of blood platelets. However, what is not immediately “visible” and therefore difficult to understand is the fact that patients with various diseases have very low levels of fatty acids. These include the following diseases:
depression
breast cancer
Alzheimer’s and dementia
schizophrenia
ADHD
The scientific studies have not yet been completed, but initial results indicate that inflammatory bowel diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma are also positively influenced by omega-3 fatty acids and that a lack of fatty acids aggravates the course of the disease.

Omega-3 overdose

There is a study that suggests that consuming too much α-linolenic acid increases the risk of developing prostate cancer. However, this study did not come to a conclusive result, so that further research is currently being carried out. If too many omega-3 fatty acids are ingested – for example through omega-3 capsules – nausea and vomiting can occur and the “good” HDL cholesterol can be reduced. There are no other clearly documented side effects of excessive intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Daily requirement of omega-3 fatty acids

There is no uniform information on the daily requirement for omega-3 fatty acids. For α-linolenic acid, the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) states that 0.5 percent of the daily energy intake should be covered by α-linolenic acid. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) states that a daily consumption of 250 milligrams of EPA and/or DHA is recommended, while US health and government organizations with values ​​of 100 to 600 milligrams of EPA/DHA are well above the European recommendations . The DGE recommends that pregnant women take in at least 200 milligrams of DHA per day.

Which foods contain fatty acids?

As already mentioned at the beginning, α-linolenic acid is generally found in plant foods such as flaxseed or walnuts. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are found in oily fish such as eel, herring or sardines and also in algae such as the microalgae Schizochytrium and Ulkenia. To some extent, α-linolenic acid can be converted to DHA and EPA, but the conversion is limited.

However, it is not only the intake of such essential fatty acids through our food that is decisive, but also that the ratio of these fatty acids to one another is optimal. The higher the proportion of omega-3 fatty acids and the lower the proportion of omega-6 fatty acids, the more optimal the oil is. The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 should not be more than 1:5 in order to keep the cardiovascular risk low.

The “healthy olive oil”, highly praised by good marketing, comes off surprisingly badly at 1:11: it has an unfavorable ratio. Local linseed oil (1:4) has the highest omega-3 content. If you don’t like the intense taste, you can also use rapeseed oil (1:2), walnut oil (1:6) or soybean oil (1:7), which are much healthier in their fatty acid ratios than the widespread sunflower oil (1:122) and corn oil (1:54) or Peanut Oil (1:32) – Oils that are popular in the hospitality industry because they are cheap and highly heatable.

Keep Reading
By