Group news
At the recent merry AGM, the chairman, secretary and treasurer were re-elected along with the current committee for another year. Mr.Bernie Radford was appointed as the group’s auditor.
Plans for the Oils and Fats Technology Update and Teach-In at Massey University, Albany Campus have now been finalised for August 29th. The registration forms can be found on the website.
Fish Oil Takes Down Lipids in Diabetics
Diabetics with mixed dyslipidemia who were on statins and treated with a novel omega-3 fatty acid drug that is 96% pure eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) improved their lipid profiles, without worsening glycemic control.
In a subgroup analysis of the ANCHOR study, the drug AMR101 at 4 g/day significantly reduced triglycerides by a mean of 23 mg/dL, whithout raising low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the population of all patients with diabetes, reported Eliot Brinton, MD, from the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research in Salt Lake City, and colleagues. AMR101 is 96% pure eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
The drug also significantly reduced most lipid and lipoprotein parameters, including triglycerides, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very LDL-C, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, apolipoprotein B, and total cholesterol, The novel agent also seemed to confer anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative benefits, Researchers observed significant reductions in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), oxidized LDL, and remnant-like particle cholesterol (RLP-C), which “suggests there will be a reduction in cardiovascular events,” Brinton said.
Brinton E, et al “Effects of AMR101 on Lipid and Inflammatory Parameters in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus-2 and Residual Elevated Triglycerides (200-500 mg/dL) on Statin Therapy at LDL-C Goal: the ANCHOR Study“ ADA 2012; Abstract 629-P.
New Website notes the difference in natural and artificial trans fats
A new website, www.naturaltransfats.ca has been developed by a consortium of Canadian dairy groups and the University of Alberta and tells the story of natural vs. industrial trans fats. At the site, consumers can learn about differences between the two types of trans fats and discover that nutrition labels lump the two together.
New Zealand Canola Oil
There is still a lot of misinformation floating around the ether about canola oil.
Rapeseed oil (canola) is the oil produced in third largest global tonnage after palm oil and soybean oil. At one time rapeseed oil, known as colza oil, was an erucic acid-rich oil used mainly for non-food purposes. For example, it was much used as an illuminant in oil lamps. During the 1960s seed breeders in Canada bred rapeseeds by conventional means to produce oil with a low level of erucic acid and a low level of glucosinolate in the residual meal. These modified seeds are often called canola.
The current canola oil sold in Australasia is non-GM, has zero erucic acid and is considered a nutritionally well-balanced oil with low saturates and a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Tocopherol antioxidant concentrates (FSANZ)
There is a proposal or call for submissions on the issue of updating the INS number for mixed tocopherol concentrate to 307b from 306 to be in line with Codex alimentarius.
A twisted tale for saturated fat
Recent research results mandate a careful re-evaluation of the widespread belief that dietary saturated fat is harmful. Specifically, multiple recent reports find no association between dietary saturated fat intakes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). There is, however, a consistent pattern of increased risk for both CVD and type-2 diabetes associated with increased levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA) in circulating lipids. This raises the important question as to what contributes to increased levels of saturated fat in the blood. Whereas dietary intake of saturated fats and serum levels of SFA show virtually no correlation, an increased intake of carbohydrate is associated with higher levels of circulating SFA. This leads to the paradoxical conclusion that dietary saturated fat is not the problem; rather it’s the over-consumption of carbohydrate relative to the individual’s ability to metabolize glucose without resorting to de novo lipogenesis. From this perspective, insulin resistant states like metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes can be viewed as carbohydrate intolerance, in which a high carbohydrate intake translates to increased serum SFA and therefore increased risk.
Lipid Technology Volume 24, Issue 5, pages 106–107, May 2012
Alternative mechanisms for lipid oxidation
For the past few decades, research on lipid oxidation mechanisms has been rather stagnant due to a pervasive attitude that reactions of lipid oxidation were well understood, so only tailoring applications of basic knowledge to stabilize individual systems was needed. This simplistic approach worked during the low fat/no fat era because there was little lipid substrate to oxidize. However, with current reformulation of foods with polyunsaturated fatty acids for health, preventing oxidation of these essential fatty acids presents major challenges that cannot always be solved with traditional thinking. Because critical gaps in our understanding prevent moving forward with improved processing, formulations, and packaging to provide high-PUFA lipid foods that remain shelf-stable beyond a few months, details about oxidation mechanisms that were previously considered irrelevant have now become critically important. Considered in the article are alternate reaction pathways that compete with classical hydrogen abstraction and must be integrated into the overall free radical chain to more accurately account for kinetics and products of lipid oxidation.
Lipid Technology Volume 24, Issue 3, pages 55–58, March 2012
- Laurence Eyres, FNZIFST