Study links heightened diabetes risk to modern oils

By RJ Whitehead, 05-Oct-2012

A long-term research study published this week has confirmed that non-traditional methods of cooking are significantly contributing to the rise in diabetes among Indians.

The report, published by a team of researchers from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and published in The International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, has been compiled over 20 years and took into account interviews with 1,875 men and women.                                    source      

It found that modern varieties of oils used in Indian cooking, such as palm and sunflower oils, were found to increase the risk for patients to develop insulin resistance and elevated glucose levels than traditional sesame and groundnut oils.

First of its kind

Diabetologist Dr V Mohan, the corresponding author of the study, told FoodNavigator-Asia that the results to his knowledge provide the first epidemiological evidence from India when looking at the effects on cooking oils on adults in relation to diabetes. "This finding is the first of its kind among Asian Indians, whose diets are very low in n3 fatty acid, and hence have a higher n6:n3 ratio compared to recommended levels. 

"[The research] relates the main plant-based vegetable cooking oils among urban adults in Chennai and their association to metabolic syndrome." These oils vary in PUFA [n6 and n3], MUFA and SFA fatty acid composition.