Butter and palm oil changed blood fats in diabetic women after breakfast
What it found
A single breakfast with 20g of fat from butter or a palm oil spread raised certain ceramide levels in blood particles four hours later.
This was measured in women with type 2 diabetes.
What they found
Studies in people
Fasting blood differences
Before eating, the women with type 2 diabetes had 34% more ceramides and 28% more GM3 in their blood than the healthy women. They also had lower levels of another fat called SPC.
Ceramides rose after meals
Four hours after eating either the butter or the palm oil spread, ceramide levels in triglyceride-rich blood particles went up. They rose by 45% after the palm oil meal and 40% after the butter meal compared to fasting levels.
Specific ceramide types increased
Certain ceramide types, especially C16:0, C24:1 and C24:0, went up after both breakfasts. The combined amount of four specific ceramides rose by 78% in the palm oil group and 52% in the butter group.
Link to triglycerides
In the palm oil group, the rise in those four ceramides tracked with the rise in triglycerides in the blood. The authors did not find this link in the butter group.
Other findings
Fat content of the meals
Both breakfasts provided 20g of fat. The palm oil spread contained mostly palmitic acid at 33.2% and oleic acid at 45.2%. The butter was 78.8% saturated fat, including 42.2% palmitic acid.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that a single meal with 20g of fat from butter or palm oil raised ceramide levels in blood particles of women with type 2 diabetes.
- The authors suggest these changes could add to the heart risks linked to high blood fats after meals in metabolic diseases.
How it was done
People with type 2 diabetes have higher levels of certain blood fats that are linked to heart problems. The authors wanted to see if eating butter or palm oil changed these fats after a meal.
Thirty women with type 2 diabetes ate a breakfast containing 20g of fat from either butter or a hazelnut cocoa palm oil spread. Blood was taken while fasting and again four hours after the meal. Fasting samples from six healthy women were used for comparison.
What it can’t tell you
- This study only included women with type 2 diabetes, so it cannot show what happens in men or people without diabetes.
- It measured changes over just four hours after one meal, so it cannot show long-term effects on health.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France; Centre de Biologie et de Pathologie Est, France
The paper
- Title
- A meal rich in palm oil or butter modifies the sphingolipid profile of postprandial triglyceride-rich lipoproteins from type 2 diabetic women
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Boulet MM, Calzada C, Pettazzoni M, et al (2022). A meal rich in palm oil or butter modifies the sphingolipid profile of postprandial triglyceride-rich lipoproteins from type 2 diabetic women. Biochimie. doi:10.1016/j.biochi.2022.07.003Free full textPubMed 35817131DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error