Having high free fatty acids can mess with your sugars
Free fatty acids – do you know what they are?
Free fatty acids are fats which circulate in your blood.
We use fats and sugars for fuel.
But many people don’t know that the fats that circulate in our blood (free fatty acids) are in competition with sugar for entry into the cell.
This means that if you have high levels of free fatty acids in the blood, your blood sugar may be higher.
In fact, free fatty acids are probably the main cause of elevated blood sugar.
There are a whole host of reasons why free fatty acids cause diabetes symptoms and related metabolic dysfunction.
And research from China shows that people who have consistently higher levels of free fatty acids in the blood are far more likely to go on to develop type II diabetes.
The human research was carried out at Shandong University in China. The paper was published in Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy.
“High circulating free fatty acid (FFA) is associated with the development of diabetes.”
We have known for decades that higher levels of free fatty acids are associated with diabetes.
This study was designed to learn more about the relationship between the two.
“This study was designed to evaluate longitudinal associations between FFA levels, changes in FFA levels, and mean FFA levels and incident diabetes.”
The research tracked blood markers in human participants over a three-year period.
The researchers looked at free fatty acids as well as blood sugar and HbA1c – a long-term marker of blood sugar control.
“Serum FFA, fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, and HbA1c levels were measured at baseline and at the end of follow-up.”
Almost 3000 non-diabetic people were included in the study.
About 10% of those developed diabetes over the course of the research.
“Of the 2905 individuals without baseline diabetes, 290 developed diabetes by the 3-year follow-up.”
People who had higher levels of free fatty acids at the start of the study were more likely to have blood sugar problems and develop diabetes.
“With increasing baseline FFA levels, the mean fasting blood glucose and the prevalence of diabetes at the end of follow-up increased.”
But higher levels of free fatty acids at the outset was not very strongly associated with developing diabetes.
“Higher baseline FFA levels were not significantly associated with greater risk of incident diabetes.”
The researchers discovered that it was long-term elevations and free fatty acids…
…or increasing free fatty acid levels over the course of the study, which were the major predictors of diabetes.
Constantly high levels of free fatty acids tripled the risk of a future diabetes diagnosis.
“Longitudinal changes in serum FFA levels showed that individuals with serum FFA levels from normal to high (OR = 2.9) or from high to high (OR = 3.3) had greater risk of incident diabetes compared with those with normal to normal FFA levels.”
The study also showed that increasing free fatty acid levels over time…
…or high average free fatty acid levels….
…was associated with a doubling in the risk of diabetes diagnosis.
“Individuals with an increase in FFA or high mean serum FFA levels were at higher risk of incident diabetes than those with decrease in FFA or normal mean serum FFA levels.”
So perhaps a single test showing high levels of free fatty acids doesn’t tell us much.
But if your free fatty acid levels are going up – or they are constantly elevated – your risk of diabetes goes through the roof.
“The longitudinal status of serum FFA levels, including chronic increases and sustained high levels, was more closely associated with high risk of incident diabetes than was high baseline FFA levels.”
Elevated free fatty acids are a major risk factor for dozens of health problems.
But it’s a solvable problem.
In my newsletters, I look at the simple solutions to bring down the levels of free fatty acids in your blood and allow for optimal energetic metabolism.
You should always consult your healthcare practitioner for guidance on medical diagnosis and treatment.
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