Replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate or monounsaturated fat may increase fibrinolytic activity.
In a new study in “The Journal of Nutrition”, researchers randomly allocated subjects to receive a diet high in saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat, or low in saturated and monounsaturated fat and higher in carbohydrate. Interestingly, when the subjects reduced saturated fat intake and increased either carbohydrate or monounsaturated fat intake, fibrinogen levels increased. Additionally, PAI-1 also appeared to increase while factor VIIc decreased.
Conclusions
Many studies have found that reducing saturated fat intake can sometimes be helpful. Interestingly, however, this study found that replacing saturated fat with alternative carbohydrate or fat sources ended up increasing fibrinogen, which in some contexts may increase vascular stiffening and elevate the risk for cardiovascular disease. The role of macronutrient intake on fibrinolysis is complicated and more research would be valuable to determine which specific foods are able to have positive or negative effects on vascular system and whether or not this leads to negative health outcomes.
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