The current, worldwide obesity epidemic is significantly increasing the number of individuals with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), an early stage combination of risk factors which predisposes individuals to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic diseases. While it has been shown that modification of dietary fat intake can play an important role in prevention and management of CVD there is an absence of dietary intervention studies focusing on dietary oils and early stage modification of MetS components, particularly those affecting progression to CVD.~The composition of canola oil is considered healthy. However, there is a lack of scientifically sound clinical studies directly comparing canola oil with other fats in the diet. Given that much of the evidence for current dietary recommendations for type and amounts of fatty acids is based on heart disease, the proposed research will contribute to the knowledge base for dietary fat recommendations for individuals with MetS.~Specifically, this study will investigate the effect of a 12 week intervention with canola oil versus the typical fat mixture in the Western diet on blood lipids, blood vessel function and MetS parameters. CVD risk will be assessed based on the profile of lipids and other factors in the blood as well using specialized equipment for non-invasive monitoring of blood vessel function.
MetS is an early stage of CVD and is an appropriate target for dietary interventions. MetS is a clustering of risk factors (abdominal obesity, elevated serum triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol, hypertension, elevated fasting blood glucose) accompanied by low grade chronic inflammation, hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) and reduced vascular function.~This study will investigate the effect of a 12 week intervention with canola oil versus the typical fat mixture in the Western diet on blood lipids, blood vessel function and MetS parameters. CVD risk will be assessed based on the profile of lipids and other factors in the blood as well using specialized equipment for non-invasive monitoring of blood vessel function.