ISSFAL Congress Features Latest Health Research on Dietary Fats

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-- Top Scientists Present How Fats Work in the Body and Impact Disease and Nutrition

STOCKHOLM, June 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Getting the right types of fat in the diet is equally if not more important than the amount, and research tells us why, according to the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL). For example, more evidence points to the health benefits of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) found in fish while overconsumption of omega-6 PUFAs found in certain vegetable oils could have negative effects. These findings and more will be presented to more than 700 researchers from 45 countries at the 11^th Congress of ISSFAL 28 June-2 July, 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden.

"We are rapidly increasing our understanding of the role that dietary lipids can play at all ages in preventing diseases related to lifestyle," notes ISSFAL President Susan E. Carlson, Ph.D.

The meeting will address three major topics: biochemistry and metabolism of fatty acids (sub-units of fats), lipids in health and disease, and lipids in nutrition. Lipids are a group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes and fat-soluble vitamins. Research presented at the ISSFAL Congress will discuss how they impact appetite, pain, inflammation, brain and gut health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, maternal and infant health, recovery from traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, and more.

Bengt Samuelsson, Ph.D., M.D., Nobel laureate and professor of physiological chemistry at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, will be represented to open the Congress with a look at the evolution of lipid research, starting with his own. His work led to the discovery of lipids involved in thrombotic (blood-clotting) events like strokes and heart attacks as well as those that play a role in inflammation.

"The revolutionary findings of the new biology have swept through in all disciplines of biomedical research," Samuelsson said in 1982 when he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. "And the increased knowledge and insight can be used to understand disease processes and to develop methods to combat disease and increase quality of life."

That is the mission of ISSFAL members, who present emerging research from around the world at the biennial ISSFAL Congress to advance knowledge of dietary fats and ultimately, benefit consumers.

"Turning research into real life health care is the aim of ISSFAL members," says Tom Brenna, Ph.D., ISSFAL president-elect and professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. "Improved understanding of how lipids work and their impact on nutrition and disease leads to better advice for the public on how to optimize health through the diet."

For more information, go to www.issfal.org and follow ISSFAL on Facebook and Twitter.

The International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) is the foremost scientific entity in the world dealing exclusively with the health effects of dietary fats, oils and lipids. Established in 1991, ISSFAL today has more than 500 members in over 40 countries. Its members are scientists, medical professionals, educators, administrators, communicators and others with an interest in lipids, such as monounsaturated, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.