Effects of monounsaturated vs. saturated fat on postprandial lipemia and adipose tissue lipases in type 2 diabetes.

Background: The effects of different dietary fatty acids on postprandial lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients are still debated.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of monounsaturated (MUFA) vs. saturated fat (SAFA)-rich diets on postprandial lipemia and adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) in type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: Eleven type 2 diabetic patients followed, in random order, a diet rich in MUFA (SAFA 8%, MUFA 23%) and another rich in SAFA (SAFA 17%, MUFA 15%) for a period of 3 weeks each. At the end of the two diets, a standard fat-rich meal was administered and subcutaneous fat biopsies were performed at fasting and 6h after the test meal.

Results: Neither diet induced significant changes in meal lipid tolerance, except for a faster (at 2h) increase in chylomicron triglycerides and a significant decrease in small VLDL triglyceride incremental area after the MUFA diet (-13.6+/-4.7 mg/dl*6h vs. -2.2+/-3.7 mg/dl*6h, p<0.005) (M+/-SEM). LPL and HSL activities were significantly increased after the MUFA diet.

Conclusions: A MUFA-rich diet reduces postprandial small VLDL triglycerides in type 2 diabetic patients compared to a SAFA-rich diet, and modifies lipolytic enzymes in adipose tissue.