Stearic acid ingestion rapidly fuses mitochondria
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research shows that ingesting stearic acid (C18:0), such as in a drink like a banana milkshake, rapidly promotes mitochondrial fusion in humans
A 2018 clinical study had participants follow a low-stearic-acid vegan diet for 2 days, resulting in fragmented mitochondria in their neutrophils (around 50% fragmented). After consuming a stearic acid-enriched drink (about 10g C18:0), mitochondria fused significantly within 3 hours—dropping fragmented mitochondria to 25% and increasing fused ones from 7% to 27%—with effects persisting at 6 hours. This occurred robustly in 90% of 21 subjects (healthy and type-2 diabetic), but a mock drink without C18:0 had no effect.
Dietary stearic acid from foods like meat, dairy, or cocoa acts as a sensed metabolite, tuning mitochondrial morphology post-meal for better function