The Effect of SFA and PUFA on Hormonal Health
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When you ask your doctor or the average person which fat is the healthiest, they'll probably say unsaturated fats or the "good" omega-3s.
In this study, researchers tested this hypothesis on male rabbits and examined the effects of margarine, olive oil, and ghee.
They found that olive oil and ghee outperformed margarine on every level.
Margarine-fed animals had:-
Lower testosterone
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Higher estrogen
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Lower expression of the androgen receptor
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Lower antioxidant enzyme levels
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Lower metrics of sperm health
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Higher PUFA metabolites like MDA
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Higher cholesterol levels
The increase in cholesterol is interesting because margarine is marketed as a more heart-healthy option compared to butter. The supposed mechanism by which saturated fats like butter contribute to
heart issues like atherosclerosis is through increasing cholesterol—yet this study shows the opposite. So, by their own logic, mainstream health advocates should be advising people to avoid margarine.
Notice how the ghee and olive oil fed animals had even higher testosterone and lower estrogen than the control animals, not just the margarine group.
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This is the fatty acid composition of the three fats. Margarine actually only has slightly higher PUFA content than olive oil and less MUFA than it. So overall margarine contains less unsaturated fats than olive oil does.
One reason olive oil performs so well despite its high UFA content, might be its polyphenol content, containing oleocanthal, hydroxytyrosol or even small amounts of policosanol.
I've talked about their pro-metabolic, testosterone enhancing effects here:
https://bioenergetic.forum/topic/3624/olive-leaf-extract-increases-t3-t4-lowers-tsh?_=1748111089619
