Research
Hormonal
Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) preserve insulin signaling and activate AMPK, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increase GLUT4 expression and mitochondrial function.
Include sources of both MUFAs (like olive oil) and PUFAs (like fish oil or walnuts) in your diet to support different aspects of insulin sensitivity.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The most recurrent antidiabetic action regarding monounsaturated fatty acids is the ability to preserve insulin signaling, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids action consists in the increasing expression of the type 4 glucose transporter.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple experimental studies cited in the review.
Source
Unsaturated fatty acid as functional food for the treatment of Diabetes mellitus type 2
Naiane Silva Cardoso et al. · Research Society and Development · 2021
DOI 10.33448/rsd-v10i9.17231
narrative_reviewCited 6×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Replacing saturated fatty acids with monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) improves glycemic control and reduces cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes patients.Good
- High egg intake (up to 12 eggs/week) does not significantly increase cardiovascular risk, inflammatory biomarkers, or blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetic patients when part of a weight-loss diet.Moderate
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