Highlights
- Cottonseed oil may lower cholesterol and improve lipid profile
- Cottonseed oil may be even better than olive oil in lowering cholesterol
- Cottonseed oil also reduces accumulation of triglycerides
High cholesterol is a problem that many people suffer from, even in young age nowadays. Controlling the levels of cholesterol in your blood is a matter of exercising and eating right and may be achieved by consuming more healthy fats and staying away from trans fats and high-calorie foods. A new study has said that cottonseed oil may be one of the best foods to consume to manage levels of cholesterol. The study which appears in the journal Nutrition Research, said that cottonseed was able to drastically improve the cholesterol profile of young adult men. The results were found after the researchers conducted a 5-day outpatient trial with 15 healthy and normal weight men. The researchers had set out to test the impact of cottonseed oil and olive oil on the lipid profiles of the men. They concluded that high fat diet, enriched with cottonseed oil was able to improve cholesterol profiles in the young men.
They found that cottonseed oil worked even better than olive oil as the participants showed significant reduction in cholesterol and triglycerides in the cottonseed oil trial. Compared to this, the percentage of reduction in participants in the olive oil trial was lower. Jamie Cooper, the corresponding author of the study said, "One of the reasons these results were so surprising is because of the magnitude of change observed with the cottonseed oil diet. To see this amount of change in such a short period of time is exciting." The study was conducted on men ranging between the age of 18 and 45 and these men were put on a five-day trial in two separate tightly controlled trials. The participants in the cottonseed oil trial showed an 8 per cent drop total cholesterol, after just five days of following the cottonseed oil diet.
They also showed a more significant 15 per cent drop in the levels of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and a 30 per cent drop in triglycerides! The found that a particular fatty acid present in cottonseed oil- dihydrosterculic acid- was responsible for preventing the accumulation of triglycerides in the body. Cooper said that by doing so, cottonseed oil also pushed the body to burn more amount of fat because it can't store it properly. Subsequently, participants have a low lipid and cholesterol accumulation.
Here are 4 more benefits of consuming cottonseed oil- a healthy fat:
1. Fights Inflammation: It is rich in vitamin E, which is a potent antioxidant, which helps fight inflammation and may even help prevent cancer.
2. Fights Cardiovascular Diseases: Cottonseed oil is high in polyunsaturated fats, which may prove instrumental in preventing cardiovascular diseases.
3. Good For Skin: The vitamin E present in cottonseed oil makes it great for the skin, even when applied topically. It can prevent infections and stimulate growth of new skin cells.
4. Improves Cognitive Health: The presence of polyunsaturated fats in cottonseed oil may improve cognition and prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia.
(With ANI inputs)