The composition of fatty acids (FA) in serum cholesterol esters (CE) to
some extent reflects FA intake. We measured CE-FA in subsistence
horticulturalists of Kitava, Trobriand Islands (1, 2). Despite a very low
intake of total fat and palmitic acid (16:0, the dominating saturated fatty
acid in the West), the level of CE16:0 was higher in Kitava than in Sweden.


When total fat intake is low, CE16:0 may preferentially reflect endogenous
fat synthesis from carbohydrates rather than dietary intake of 16:0 (3).
This may also explain the fact that, in multivariate analysis, we found
CE16:0 in both sexes to be positively related to TG and negatively to
HDL-C, since TG is elevated and HDL-C is reduced by an increased intake of
carbohydrates (4), at least when dietary fat provides less than 25 en% and
carbohydrates more than 60 en%, as is the case in Kitava. Similar negative
relations between CE16:0 and HDL-C in healthy males from Finland (5) and
France (6) suggest, on the other hand, that there may be additional
explanations.

1      Lindeberg S, Vessby B. Fatty acid composition of cholesterol esters
and serum tocopherols in Melanesians apparently free from cardiovascular
disease - the Kitava study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 1995; 5: 45-53.
2      Lindeberg S, Nilsson-Ehle P, Vessby B. Lipoprotein composition and
serum cholesterol ester fatty acids in non-westernized Melanesians. Lipids
1996; 31: 153-8.
3      Gurr, M. (1993) "Fats", in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (Garrow,
J.S. and James, W.P.T., eds.) 77-102, Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
4      Liu, G., Coulston, A., Hollenbeck, C. and Reaven, G. (1984) "The
effect of sucrose content in high and low carbohydrate diets on plasma
glucose, insulin, and lipid responses in hypertriglyceridemic humans", J
Clin Endocrinol Metab 59, 636-42.
5      Marniemi, J., Lehtonen, A., Inberg, M., Niittymaki, K., Maatela, J.,
Alanen, E. and Seppanen, A. (1989) "Fatty acid composition of serum lipids
in patients with a coronary bypass operation", J Intern Med 225, 343-7.
6      Cambien, F., Warnet, J.M., Vernier, V., Ducimetiere, P., Jacqueson,
A., Flament, C., Orssaud, G., Richard, J.L. and Claude, J.R. (1988) "An
epidemiologic appraisal of the associations between the fatty acids
esterifying serum cholesterol and some cardiovascular risk factors in
middle-aged men", Am J Epidemiol 127, 75-86.

At 18.46 97-09-22, Art De Vany wrote:
>Here is an interesting abstract exploring fatty acid synthesis on
>low fat diets.  It is located at
>http://www.diabetes.org/ada/res1.html.
>
>My reading is that it seems to confirms results previously posted
>to this list: a higher proportion of CHO is synthesized to fatty
>acids the higher is the ratio of CHO to fat in the diet.  The
>subjects in this case were insulin-resistant; there were no normals
>in the study.
>
>If the fatty acid synthesis of these insulin resistant subjects
>exceeds that of normals, then this is suggestive of a mechanism for
>a "thrifty gene".  The abstract fails to separate an increase in the
>RATE of fatty acid synthesis from the LEVEL accumulated in blood
>trigyceride.  It is clear the rate increased and it seems the level
>as well.
>
>Abstract follows:
>
>Clinical Research Grant
>
>Sensitivity to Carbohydrate-Induced Fatty Acid Synthesis in the
>Insulin Resistance Syndrome
>
>Lisa Cooper Hudgins, MD
>New York, NY
>
>Summary of Results:
>In the first year, using solid food diets composed of commonly
>consumed foods, my project explored the effects of a reduction in
>the amount of dietary fat and an increase in the amount of
>carbohydrate on the body's own production of fat in normal and
>obese, insulin-resistant volunteers. In seven normal volunteers
>studied for one month in the controlled environment of the
>Rockefeller Clinical Research Center, we found that when the dietary
>carbohydrate was high in simple sugars and low in complex
>carbohydrate, the body converted the carbohydrate to fat when 30% of
>calories were fat, and even more when 10% of calories were fat.
>When fat production increased, the newly formed saturated (animal)
>fat accumulated in the blood triglyceride with potential adverse
>effects on heart disease and diabetes. An important finding was that
>there was no change in body weight or metabolic rate between the
>high fat and low fat diets. Surprisingly, two obese subjects with
>high fasting insulins and other characteristics of the insulin
>resistance syndrome showed less, rather than the predicted greater,
>fat production on the two diets. More subjects need to be studied to
>confirm this finding that may be a consequence of decreased
>responsiveness to insulin.

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Staffan Lindeberg M.D. Ph.D. Dept of Community Health Sciences, Lund
University, Mailing address: Dr Staffan Lindeberg, Primary Health Care
Centre, Sjobo, S-22738 Sweden, +46 416 28140, Fax +46 416 18395
<[log in to unmask]> http://www.panix.com/~paleodiet/lindeberg/
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