Soybean Oil Diet Is The Villain In The Obesity Epidemic

A study in mice by U.S. scientists shows that a soybean oil-rich diet is much more likely to induce obesity and other pre-diabetic symptoms than coconut oil or fructose-rich foods and beverages. Four groups of animals ate different diets, each containing 40 percent fat and the same number of calories. One diet was high in coconut oil, another had equal amounts of coconut oil and soybean oil (roughly the equivalent of the amount in the American diet). Two diets included added fructose. Mice on the high soybean oil diet showed increased weight gain, larger fat deposits, diabetes and insulin resistance, compared to the coconut oil diet. Mice on the fructose diet had less severe metabolic effects, but more negative effects in the kidney and symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.