Metabolic health

Arachidic acid (C20:0)

Eicosanoic acid

Included in Complete.

Not all saturated fats behave the same way.

Arachidic acid is a saturated fat with 20 carbons, part of a group researchers call very long-chain saturated fats. It's a small share of your blood's fatty acids, coming partly from foods like peanuts and canola oil and partly from your body.

Higher levels have been linked with better outcomes.

In cohort studies, higher levels of very long-chain saturated fats, including arachidic acid, have been associated with lower risks of type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. Much of the diabetes link may be explained by lower triglycerides and palmitic acid.

These findings are observational, and the biology is still being worked out. In studies of daily habits, drinking less alcohol has gone along with higher arachidic acid levels.

Questions

What does a low arachidic acid result mean?

A low result doesn't tell you much on its own. Arachidic acid is a research marker without an established target, so a clinician will read it with your other very long-chain saturated fats, triglycerides, and blood sugar markers.

Can food change it?

It may. Short feeding trials with peanuts and macadamia nuts have raised very long-chain saturated fats in the blood. Your body also makes them from stearic acid, so diet is only one influence.

Sources and references