Bhavsar Nilam, St-Onge Marie-Pierre
Department of Medicine, Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University, New York, USA.
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2016 Mar;19(2):81-7. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000249.
The adverse cardiovascular health effects of saturated fats have been debated recently since the publication of studies reporting no increase in cardiovascular risk with saturated fat intakes. We purport that this may be because of the varied nature of saturated fats, which range in length from 2 to over 20 carbon atoms, and review evidence surrounding the cardiovascular health effects of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT).
MCTs are saturated fats of shorter chain length than other, more readily consumed saturated fats. Studies have reported that consumption of MCT may lead to improvements in body composition without adversely affecting cardio-metabolic risk factors. There may also be synergistic actions between MCT and n-3 polyunsaturated fats that may lead to improvements in cardiovascular health.
It is clinically relevant to distinguish between sources of saturated fats for cardiovascular health. Medium, and possibly shorter chain, saturated fats behave differently than long-chain saturated fats and should not be judged similarly when it comes to their cardio-metabolic health effects. Given their neutral, and potentially beneficial cardiovascular health effects, they should not be categorized together.
自从有研究报道饱和脂肪摄入量不会增加心血管风险以来，饱和脂肪对心血管健康的不良影响最近一直存在争议。我们认为这可能是由于饱和脂肪性质各异，其碳原子长度从2个到20多个不等，并综述了有关中链甘油三酯（MCT）对心血管健康影响的证据。
MCT是链长度比其他更容易摄入的饱和脂肪短的饱和脂肪。研究报道，食用MCT可能会改善身体成分，而不会对心脏代谢风险因素产生不利影响。MCT与n-3多不饱和脂肪之间也可能存在协同作用，这可能会改善心血管健康。
区分饱和脂肪的来源对心血管健康具有临床意义。中链以及可能更短链的饱和脂肪与长链饱和脂肪的行为不同，在心脏代谢健康影响方面不应进行类似的评判。鉴于它们对心血管健康具有中性且潜在有益的影响，不应将它们归为一类。
