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New study sheds light on the role of dietary fat in osteoarthritis

You are what you eat.  At least that's what one old saying says.




There is some truth in this.  We all know that if we don't include certain things in our diet, we end up with deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, etc. that lead to serious illness.  We also can associate that a carbohydrate rich diet can increase the risk of diabetes.  And on it goes.

A new study at Duke University reveals a connection between the types of fats in the diet and osteoarthritis symptoms.  Maybe you wouldn't think there's a connection here, but early evidence suggests that this is the case.  The study centered around mice (with osteoarthritis caused by injury) who were fed one of three types of diets:

Diet A: rich in saturated fats (found in butter, dairy products, meats)

Diet B: rich in Omega 6 fats (found in corn oil, soybean oil, nuts, and seeds)

Diet C: rich in Omega 3 fats (found in fish oil, fish oil supplements)

To make a long story short, the mice who ate the diet that contained high amounts of saturated fats or Omega 6 had significant worsening of their arthritis.  The Omega 3 group seemed to experience a slowing of disease progression and improved healing time.

The research team is currently working to translate what this means for humans with arthritis.  They believe the next best step would be to study the effect of Diet C in humans with injury induced osteoarthritis.

Stay tuned.  And in the meantime, consider adding a little fish or fish oil to your diet!

Sources: newswise, pixabay



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