Indeed, men are from Mars and women are from Venus, even when it comes to health.
A new study just revealed that men and women may have the tendency to react differently when it comes to fat, which means it's incredibly important to individualize or personalize meal plans, at least based on sexes.
But what does the study say? A research team from LA's
Cedar-Sinai Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute wanted to find out the differences between a man's and a woman's reaction when exposed to short-term high-fat meal.
Using lab mice, they discovered that the way inflammation of the brain develops can greatly vary between males and females. Men, in particular, have the tendency to experience inflammation even if they have been exposed to fat for only a short time. Moreover, they can also go through decreased cardiac function in a manner that's completely different from that of females.
But that's not the only thing. When the researchers tried to alter the brains of the male mice by introducing fatty acids obtained from the females, they learned that these brains have become protected from the effects of eating the high-fat diet.
The tests are still limited to mice, but the researchers are planning to move on to humans to determine whether they also display the same effect.
Either way, the researchers are already putting out a strong caution among men, especially those who already have pre-existing diseases such as diabetes. Brain inflammation is often linked to an increased presence of blood sugar and chronic inflammation in the body.
While they think that women also need to watch out for what they eat, they strongly advise men to seriously consider the type and amount of food the put on their plate.
Moreover, based on the data they have obtained, they believe that it may be necessary to include other factors including whether the person is a male or female when creating a meal plan.