What is Monounsaturated Fats Benefits?

Monounsaturated fats, or commonly known as MUFAs, are a type of fat that offers many health benefits. MUFAs are anti-inflammatory and promote heart health when taken in moderation or used to substitute saturated fats and trans fats in the diet. MUFAs are widely found in both animal- and plant-based foods such as lard, duck, almonds, cashews, avocados, and so forth. Olive and canola oils are also rich in MUFAs. They can be characterised by their liquid state at room temperature and solid state when chilled. Oils rich in monounsaturated fats are also a good source of vitamin E, an antioxidant vitamin that aids in slowing down the aging process. Studies have also shown that high-MUFA diets have significant effectiveness in weight loss as compared to having a low-fat high-carb diet.

How It Affects Your Body

Monounsaturated fatty acids provide nutrients for healthy development of the body's cells. MUFAs may help lower your risk of heart disease by improving your risk factors. One example is MUFAs can help reduce your overall and bad cholesterol levels.

Additionally, MUFAs also help to maintain your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level. HDL cholesterol is known to be the good cholesterol needed by the body.

There are many types of MUFAs, one of which is omega-9 (oleic acid). It helps to control the immune system, blocks cholesterol absorption in the small intestine, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation, all of which can provide health benefits like weight loss and diabetes prevention.

Apart from that, replacing carbohydrates and saturated fats with MUFAs in your diet is said to be able to regulate blood sugar levels by increasing body's sensitivity towards insulin. Insulin is released in response to excess blood sugars in the body, thus lowering the risk of diabetes.