Abstract
Background and Objectives. Randomly interesterified (IE) palmitic acid (16:0)- and stearic acid (18:0)-rich fats are commonly used by the food industry for applications such as spreads and bakery products. Previous studies demonstrate that 18:0-rich fats (unlike 16:0-rich) do not increase the total:HDL cholesterol ratio (TC:HDL), but the comparative effects of commercially relevant IE fats rich in 16:0 or 18:0 are unclear. Hypothesis: An IE 16:0-rich fat will have equivalent effects on the TC:HDL when compared with a functionally matched 18:0-rich fat. Methods. A randomised crossover trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT04418102; funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board) in healthy adults aged 35–65 was conducted. IE fats provided 10% energy intake for 6 weeks per arm with a minimum 4-week washout period. IE fats were formulated into hardstocks that were baked into muffins and blended into spreads. Spreads contained either 54% IE palm stearin/kernel (PSK) hardstock (16:0, 49%; 18:0, 5%) blended with 36% rapeseed oil (final spread: 16:0, 32%; 18:0, 4%), or 54% IE fully hydrogenated rapeseed oil/coconut oil/high oleic sunflower oil/sunflower oil hardstock (16:0, 7%; 18:0, 41%) blended with 36% rapeseed oil (final spread: 16:0, 6%; 18:0, 25%). The study was conducted at King’s College London and Maastricht University. Results: A total of 51 eligible volunteers were randomised to the treatment sequence; 47 participants completed the study (24 females/23 males; mean age 52 years, SD 8; mean BMI 25.6, SD 3.0). The TC:HDL did not change following FHS (0.03, 95% CI −0.06, 0.12) or PSK (−0.03, 95% CI −0.11, 0.06) and changes did not differ between groups (0.05, 95% CI −0.08, 0.18). The total, HDL and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations did not change following PSK or FHS and there were no differences in changes between groups. Discussion: Consuming foods made with commercially relevant IE fat blends rich in 16:0 at 10% of the energy intake is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on the TC:HDL when compared with IE fat blends rich in 18:0. These results provide much-needed evidence of the cardiometabolic health effects of industrially processed fats relevant to oil and fat manufacturers, the food industry, health authorities and healthcare professionals.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, S.E.B. and R.P.M.; methodology, S.E.B., R.P.M., P.J.J., J.H.B. and W.L.H.; formal analysis, W.L.H.; investigation, E.W. and P.J.J.; data curation, E.W. and P.J.J.; writing—original draft preparation, W.L.H.; writing—review and editing, S.E.B., J.H.B., R.P.M. and P.J.J.; funding acquisition, S.E.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by Malaysian Palm Oil Board.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by King’s College London Research Ethics Committee (HR-19/20-14655, January 2020) and Medical Ethics Committee of Maastricht University (METC 19-032, October 2019).
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
Data may be shared upon request.
Conflicts of Interest
S.E.B. receives consultancy payments/options from Zoe Ltd. (London, UK). J.H.B. works for ADM Trading (UK) Ltd., a major manufacturer of vegetable fats and oils.
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