In a new study, researchers found that eating more linoleic acid may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid and is one of two essential fatty acids for people, who must obtain it through their diet.
Foods high in this nutrient include flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, soybeans and soybean oil, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil, perilla seed oil, tofu, walnuts, and walnut oil.
The research was done by a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China.
In the new study, the team analyzed data from 83,648 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study, 88,610 women from NHSII, and 41,771 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.
They wanted to examine the link between intakes of linoleic acid and type 2 diabetes risk.
There were 18,442 people developing type 2 diabetes during the follow-up.
The team found that linoleic acid accounted for about 4%–7% of total daily energy on average.
Type 2 diabetes risk was 14%t lower when linoleic acid replaced saturated fats in a daily diet.
In addition, type 2 diabetes risk was 17% lower when linoleic acid replaced trans fats, and 9% lower when linoleic acid replaced carbohydrates in a daily diet.
The team says that a higher intake of linoleic acid may reduce type 2 diabetes risk, especially when replacing saturated fatty acids, trans fats, or carbohydrates.
The lead author of the study is Geng Zong, Ph.D., from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China.
The study is published in the journal Diabetes Care.
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