How Good Fats Unlock Longevity Secrets in the Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is one of the most popular diets for improving one's health. A new study demonstrates how it works at the molecular level to cause noticeable changes in the body. This diet focuses on plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, legumes, nuts, seafood, lean chicken, and unsaturated fat from extra virgin olive oil. According to studies, persons who follow the Mediterranean diet live longer and are healthier than those who eat predominantly fast food, meat, and dairy (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Mediterranean diet and life expectancy; beyond olive oil, fruits, and vegetables

Go to source). However, it is unclear why this diet improves the body on a molecular level.

Unraveling the Connection Between Good Fats and Longevity in New Study

A new study led by the Stanford School of Medicine has discovered one of the first biological links between good fats (monounsaturated fatty acids) and laboratory worm lifespan. The findings of the study, published in Nature Cell Biology , point to a complicated link between nutrition, fats, and longevity (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Lipid droplets and peroxisomes are co-regulated to drive lifespan extension in response to mono-unsaturated fatty acids

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Certain forms of fats, or lipids, have been found in some studies to be advantageous. The researchers discovered that oleic acid, a lipid included in the Mediterranean diet, boosts the amount of two critical cellular structures known as organelles and protects cellular membranes from damage caused by a chemical reaction known as oxidation.

The researchers tested the effect of feeding the worms bacteria produced in laboratory plates supplemented with oleic acid with elaidic acid, a structurally identical molecule (trans fats that are not advantageous).

Unveiling the Mechanism: How Good Fats Extend Lifespan

"We saw that the numbers of lipid droplets in the worms’ intestinal cells increased if the worms were exposed to oleic acid and that this correlated with an extension of lifespan," Brunet, senior author and the school's Michele and Timothy Barakett Professor of Genetics said. "In contrast, exposure to elaidic acid didn’t increase the number of lipid droplets and did not affect longevity."

Finally, the researchers demonstrated that oleic acid supplementation reduced lipid oxidation, a chemical event that destroys cellular membranes. Elaidic acid, on the other hand, promoted lipid oxidation.

The findings are the first to demonstrate that lipid droplets and peroxisomes are co-regulated via a biological process activated by the presence of beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids and that aging may be slowed by preserving cellular membranes from oxidation.

References:

1. Mediterranean diet and life expectancy; beyond olive oil, fruits, and vegetables - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27552476/)
2. Lipid droplets and peroxisomes are co-regulated to drive lifespan extension in response to mono-unsaturated fatty acids - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37127715/)

Source-Medindia