Butter and palm oil meal change ceramides in diabetic women
What it found
In 30 women with type 2 diabetes, a single breakfast with 20g of fat from butter or a palm oil spread raised ceramide levels in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins 4 hours later.
The same women also had higher fasting ceramide and GM3 levels than 6 healthy women.
What they found
Studies in people
Fasting ceramides higher
Women with type 2 diabetes had 34% higher total ceramide levels in their blood than healthy women. The biggest rises were in C24:0, C22:0 and C24:1 ceramides.
Fasting GM3 higher
Women with type 2 diabetes had 28% higher levels of a fat-like molecule called GM3 in their blood than healthy women. Several GM3 types with saturated fats were higher.
Post-meal ceramides rise
After the breakfast, total ceramides in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins rose by 45% in the palm oil group and 40% in the butter group. The same ceramide types C16:0, C22:0, C24:1 and C24:0 went up after both meals.
Link to triglycerides
In the palm oil group, the rise in certain ceramides was linked to the rise in triglycerides in the blood and in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. No such link was seen in the butter group.
No change in other fats
The meals did not change GM3, sphingosine-1-phosphate, sphingosine, sphinganine or sphingosylphosphorylcholine in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Sphingomyelin tended to rise only in the palm oil group.
What the authors conclude
“Altogether in T2D, the altered profile of plasma SP and the increased Cer concentrations in postprandial TGRL could contribute to the increased atherogenicity of TGRL.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that a single 20g fat-rich meal from a vegetable or dairy source led to increased concentrations of harmful ceramide types in postprandial triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in women with type 2 diabetes.
- They say that ceramides in these lipoproteins can be modified by dietary fats and could add to the harmful effects of post-meal lipoproteins in metabolic diseases.
- They advise that further studies are needed to test the potential biological effects of ceramides with different fat chain lengths.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see how a fatty meal changes sphingolipids, which are fat-like molecules, in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins from people with type 2 diabetes. Some sphingolipids are seen as possible markers for heart disease.
30 women with type 2 diabetes ate a breakfast with 20g of fat from either a hazelnut-cocoa palm oil spread or butter. Blood was taken before and 4 hours after the meal. Fasting blood from 6 healthy women was used for comparison.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study of 30 women with type 2 diabetes, so the results may not apply to men or to people without diabetes.
- The study only looked at one meal and 4 hours after, so it cannot show what happens with long-term eating habits.
- The study cannot prove that the ceramide changes cause heart problems, only that they are linked to other risk markers.
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 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error