Grant: Project Grant

Diabetes and pre-diabetes are metabolic disorders affecting more than 15% of the world's population. The prevalence of these disorders is currently increasing mainly due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyles associated with rising obesity rates and aging of the population. Because diabetes and pre-diabetes are so closely associated with major health problems such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids and cardiovascular disease (CVD), they have a tremendous impact on the health-care costs of our society. Significant efforts should therefore be dedicated to tackling this problem from a societal perspective. Although elevated blood lipid levels observed in diabetes and pre-diabetes have largely been attributed to overproduction by the liver, recent studies by our group have indicated that the small intestine also contributes significantly to elevated blood lipid levels. Recent studies provide strong support for the beneficial role of dietary monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) for primary cardiovascular prevention. New data also suggest that MUFAs from olive oil may exert beneficial effects on CVD risk by reducing intestinal lipid production, but no studies have examined this issue in patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes. This study will allow us to investigate whether substitution of canola oil rich in MUFAs for saturated fats could reduce intestinal lipid production in patients with pre-diabetes. We will also examine the impact of MUFAs on the expression of the major genes involved in the regulation of intestinal lipid metabolism. The identification of therapeutic strategies using non-pharmacologic agents such as MUFAs is likely to lead to significant advances in our attempts to reduce CVD risk in this vulnerable population.