The High Monounsaturated Fat/Low Saturated Fat Soybean Oil

High-oleic soybean oil has three times the amount of beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and less than half of the saturated fat found in traditional soybean oil. A high MUFA content makes this oil extremely stable, allowing it to remain trans-fat-free by eliminating the need for partial hydrogenation.

Health Benefits

• MUFAs, such as oleic acid, benefit heart health when eaten in moderation and when used to replace saturated fats or trans fats. MUFAs may also help reduce LDL levels in the blood, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.¹
• Studies have shown that MUFAs reduce blood pressure. A recent study demonstrated that it is the oleic acid component that contributes to this hypotensive effect.²
• Substituting saturated fat with monounsaturated fat improves insulin sensitivity and reduces plasma triglycerides, making it an important dietary modification for those at risk of metabolic syndrome.³

References on this page
1 Berglund L, Lefevre M, et al. Comparison of monounsaturated fat with carbohydrates as a replacement for saturated fat in subjects with a high metabolic risk profile. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1611-20.
2 Terés S, Barceló-Coblijn G, Benet M, et al. Oleic acid content is responsible for the reduction in blood pressure induced by olive oil. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008 Sep 16;105(37):13811-6. Epub 2008 Sep 4.
3 Riccardi G, Giacco R, Rivellese AA. Dietary fat, insulin sensitivity andthe metabolic syndrome. Clin Nutr. 2004 Aug;23(4):447-56.

The Heart-Healthy Essential

The development of an increased omega-3 soybean oil will result in an affordable, land-based and renewable source of heart-healthy omega-3s that is widely accessible and can be used as a functional food ingredient. Companies working on developing these soybean varieties are aiming for an omega-3 content of 20 percent or higher. This type of food-based increase in omega-3s could have tremendous public health benefits.

Health Benefits

• Three controlled trials of 32,000 participants consuming omega-3s showed reductions of 19-45 percent in cardiovascular events, suggesting that increasing dietary omega-3s could have tremendous health benefits for those at risk of cardiovascular disease.¹
• Omega-3 fatty acids have potent anti-inflammatory effects that guard against coronary heart disease, autoimmune diseases, depression and cancer.²
• In addition to fish, the AHA recommends expanding food sources of omega-3s to include soybean oil, other vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.³

The Science Behind the Benefits

While fish oil is the preferred source because of the bioavailability of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in soybean oil, is the principal source of omega-3s in the U.S. diet.⁴ In the human body, only a small percentage of ALA is converted to EPA and DHA,^5,6 and some people lack the required enzymes for even that conversion.

Researchers have been hard at work trying to improve conversion and bioavailability of EPA and DHA from soybean oil. Specifically, scientists have focused on developing soybeans that contain higher levels of stearidonic acid (SDA) because it bypasses the rate-limiting step of conversion from ALA to EPA and DHA.

A 2009 clinical trial conducted by the American Heart Association (AHA) found evidence to support SDA’s bioavailability since modified SDA soybean oil demonstrated a positive effect on cellular EPA levels. In fact, the biotech oil raised human EPA levels by 17.1 percent. For comparison, EPA levels rose 19.7 percent in the EPA fish oil group, which means that both studies produced statistically significant changes.⁷

References on this page
1 Lee, JH, O’Keefe, JH, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids for cardioprotection, Mayo Clin Proc. 2008;83(3):324-332.
2 Simopoulos AP. Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Dec;21(6):495-505.
3 Kris-Etherton PM, Harris WS, Appel LJ. Fish consumption, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 2002;106(21):2747-57.
4 PM Kris-Etherton, Denise Shaffer Taylor, et al. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the food chain in the United States. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jan; 71(1) 1: 179S-188S
5 Burdge G. Alpha-linolenic acid metabolism in men and women: nutritional and biological implications. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care.2004;7(2):137-144.
6 Pawlosky RJ, Hibbeln JR, Novotny JA, Salem N. Physiological compartmental analysis of alpha-linolenic acid metabolism in adult humans. J Lipid Res. 2001;42(8):1257-65.
7 Harris WS, Lemke SL, Hansen SN, Goldstein DA, DiRienzo MA, Su H, Nemeth MA, Taylor ML, Ahmed G, George C. Stearidonic-acid-enriched soybean oil increased the omega-3 index, an emerging cardiovascular risk marker. Lipids. 2008 Sep;43(9):80511. Epub 2008 Aug 6.

The Trans-Fat-Free Soybean Oil

Low-linolenic soybeans are flavor neutral, low in saturated fat and trans-fat-free, all while offering oxidative stability and comparable functionality to partially hydrogenated oils.

Health Benefits

• Since 2005, low-linolenic soybean oil has enabled major food companies to eliminate trans fats from their products while not increasing saturated fats.
• Epidemiological reviews suggest that replacing saturated fats and trans fats with unsaturated fats has beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity and is likely to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes.¹
• A 2010 study by India's Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases found that promoting widespread use of healthy oils and decreasing intake of saturated fats and trans fats would help slow the spread of the "epidemics" of obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in developing countries.²

The Science Behind the Benefits

The naturally occurring alpha-linolenic acid in soybean oil is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. This acid makes the oil less heat stable and more susceptible to oxidation. Partially hydrogenating soybean oil makes it more stable but also creates trans fats, which have been linked to elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. By lowering the linolenic levels from 7 percent to 1-3 percent, low-linolenic soybeans eliminate the need for partial hydrogenation and create a more stable, trans-fat-free soybean oil.

References on this page
1 Risérus U, Willett WC, Hu FB. Dietary fats and prevention of type 2 diabetes. Prog Lipid Res. 2009 Jan;48(1):44-51.
2 Misra A, Singhal N, Khurana L. Obesity, the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in developing countries: role of dietary fats and oils. J Am Coll Nutr. 2010 Jun;29(3 Suppl):289S-301S.