Mice run faster if given excellent oil

From the 1932 Olympics to 2008, the world record for the men's 100m sprint was cut by 0.6 seconds thanks to technological advances and improved training techniques. Imagine if this day one could achieve this achievement thanks to a simple adjustment in the diet. Scientists from Australia's Wildlife Research Institute have succeeded in making mice achieve similar results by giving them a diet rich in non-cholesterol fatty acids.

Non-cholesterol fatty acids are important nutritional ingredients, without it, mammals cannot synthesize new chains (de novo). The results of the study will be presented at the annual meeting of the Experimental Biology Society on June 29, according to which mice enjoy a diet rich in sunflower oil, which contains non-cholesterol fatty acids. -6 within two weeks, capable of running faster than 0.19 m / s compared to mice eating lots of flax oil, which are high in n-3 fatty acids.

Mice that enjoy a diet rich in non-cholesterol fatty acids can sprint faster. (Photo: iStockphoto / Sarah Salmela)

This means that, when sprinting for the last 2 seconds, a mouse enjoying a diet rich in n-6 fatty acids will benefit from 0.4 m. This result is equivalent to an improvement of 6.3% of results in the world record for the 100m run line over 75 years. For rats, or other small mammals, this is a significant evolutionary step when placed in a situation where you have to run away from the pursuing predator. 'The results of the current study on mice show the difference between n-6 and n-3 non-cholesterol fatty acids that may have a biological effect on sprint speed,' said Dr. Christopher Turbill, who will present the research results.

A previous study also conducted by this group of scientists on many different mammals, showed that species with high levels of n-6 fatty acids in muscles have a greater sprint speed . Thus, through two studies, the results show that the diet rich in these fatty acids 'can also affect the speed at which most vertebrate animals, including humans, run at full strength,' Dr. Turbill said. 'The application of this study to professional athletes (especially those who compete for short distance sprint sports, including cycling) has not been confirmed yet. But in my personal opinion, we should pay more attention to research. '