Postprandial triacylglycerolaemia: the effect of low-fat dietary treatment with and without fish oil supplementation
Roche, H.M.; Gibney, M.J.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50(9): 617-624
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0954-3007 PMID: 8880041 Document Number: 466979
Objective: This study investigated whether a low-dose of fish oil had the ability to prevent the adverse effects associated with low-fat dietary treatment, namely elevated plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) and reduced high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations. Design: Thirty-two healthy volunteers participated in the trial, which consisted of four study groups (n = 8): low-fat diet with fish oil supplementation, low-fat diet without fish oil supplementation, full-fat diet with fish oil supplementation and full-fat diet without fish oil supplementation. Low-fat dietary treatment reduced dietary energy derived from fat by at least 10% and the low-dose of fish oil provided 1 g n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) daily. The postprandial response to a fat-rich test meal (0.5 g/kg pre-trial body weight) was investigated before and after 16 weeks dietary intervention. Results: Fasting plasma TAG concentrations were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) reduced by fish oil supplementation and significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) increased by the low-fat diet alone but not significantly affected following the low-fat diet with fish oil supplementation. The postprandial TAG response was significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) increased following the low-fat diet with fish oil supplementation. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that some of the deleterious effects of a low-fat diet, reduced concentrations of the cardioprotective HDL2 cholesterol fraction and increased fasting plasma TAG concentrations were prevented when a low dose of fish oil was provided with a low-fat diet. However postprandial triacylglycerolaemia is adversely affected when the low-fat diet was supplemented with fish oil. Sponsorship: This work was funded by Nutriscan Ltd., a non-profit campus company of University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.