Abstract
Purpose
Fatty acid composition in blood and adipose tissue (AT) is a useful biomarker of dietary fat quality. However, circulating saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) have been proposed to also reflect carbohydrate-induced de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) activity. We aimed to test the hypothesis that high carbohydrate intake is related to SFA and MUFA in serum or AT in a Swedish population.
Methods
Fatty acid composition was measured in serum phospholipids (PL) and AT by gas chromatography in 63-year-old men (
n
= 299). Carbohydrate and alcohol intake was assessed (validated 7-day food records) in relation to total SFA, 16:0 (palmitate), 16:1 (palmitoleate), and estimated SCD activity (16:1n-7/16:0-ratio) in serum PL and in AT, respectively.
Results
Total carbohydrate intake was inversely associated with 16:0 in PL (
P
= 0.005), independently of BMI. Disaccharides were non-linearly (restricted cubic splines) and weakly associated with 16:1 and SCD activity in PL (nonlinear trend,
P
≤ 0.02) but not AT. Carbohydrate intake and SCD expression were not associated (
P
≥ 0.08,
n
= 81). Alcohol intake was, however, linearly associated with 16:0 in PL (
P
< 0.001), and with 16:1 (
P
< 0.001) and SCD activity (
P
≤ 0.005) in both PL and AT.
Conclusions
Higher carbohydrate intake from sugar-rich foods or beverages was not clearly reflected by higher SFA or SCD activity in serum PL or AT. Alcohol was, however, associated with higher SFA and MUFA.