If your running shoes are collecting more dust bunnies than miles, you may want to change up your diet. Swapping out saturated fat for monounsaturated fat can increase your physical activity levels by up to 15 percent, according to new research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers from the University of Vermont and Duke University gave 32 young adults meals that contained an oil high in palmitic acid, a common type of saturated fat, for three weeks. After breaking for a week, the participants resumed eating the same meals for three more weeks—but this time the oil was high in oleic acid, a common type of monounsaturated fat.
Throughout the study, participants wore accelerometers around their waists to allow researchers to monitor their physical activity. When the participants followed a diet high in monounsaturated fats, they were between 12 and 15 percent more active than when they ate the saturated fat-rich meals. What’s more, participants’ resting metabolisms were faster when they replaced saturated fat with monounsaturated fat.
To see if participants’ moods were behind the revved-up sweat sessions, researchers asked some of them to answer a survey about their mental ups and downs. Researchers found that the test subjects were angrier and more hostile when they ate the meals filled with saturated fats.
“Nobody recommends the Western diet, which is full of saturated fat from meat and dairy,” says C. Lawrence Kien, MD, PhD, lead study researcher and professor at The University of Vermont College of Medicine’s division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism—yet it’s still the predominant diet in the U.S., he points out. “This study would suggest that a Mediterranean diet rich in monounsaturated fats could create physical and behavioral changes that are associated with leanness.”
Monounsaturated fats can also help regulate inflammation in the body, which may influence brain chemistry and account for the boosts in mood and activity, says Kein. In addition, previous research has shown that monounsaturated fats promote weight loss, increase feel-good serotonin levels, and boost lean muscle mass.
About 20 percent of your total daily calories should come from monounsaturated fats, according to The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Saturated fats, however, should account for no more than 7 percent of your day’s caloric intake.
Here, four foods packed with monounsaturated fats that may help motivate you to slip on your running shoes:
Peanuts
Peanuts actually pack more monounsaturated fats than just about any other legume, says Nutritionist Laura Cipullo, RD, owner of Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Services in New York City.
Try This Peanut Recipe: Curried Peanuts
Olives
Chances are you’ve heard about the health wonder that is olive oil. But don’t forget where the yummy stuff comes from. Olives are teeming with oleic acid, says Cipullo.
Try This Olive Recipe: Tuna-Olive Salad
Avocados
Avocados’ super creamy texture comes from monounsaturated fats, says nutritionist Monica Reinagel, LN, CNS.
Try This Avocado Recipe: Vegetable Fajitas
Dark Chocolate
A health food your taste buds can seriously get behind, dark chocolate (we’re talking 60 percent cocoa and up) packs good-for-you monounsaturated fats. It’s still important to practice moderation with the sweet stuff, though, says Reinagel, so you don’t take in too many calories.
Try This Dark Chocolate Recipe: Dark Chocolate and Pistachio Bark
More From Women’s Health:
Eating Well: The Best Fitness Foods for Women
9 Health Benefits of Chocolate
The FWB Diet: What to Eat and Why It Works
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