Study Finds Natural Dairy Trans Fats Behave Very Differently From Industrial Fats

Key Points:

• A comprehensive review of 22 studies indicates that naturally occurring trans fats in dairy products such as milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese do not pose the same cardiovascular risks as industrial trans fats.
• Analysis of controlled dietary trials and long-term cohort studies involving thousands of participants found no significant association between dairy trans fats and increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular death, or type 2 diabetes.
• Naturally occurring trans fats are produced by ruminant animals and differ chemically and in health impact from industrial trans fats created through partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils.
• Controlled trials showed no harmful changes in blood lipid biomarkers with consumption of dairy trans fats, while observational studies with follow-ups over decades reinforced the absence of adverse cardiometabolic effects.
• The findings, published in Nutrition Research, challenge the prevailing assumption that all trans fats have similar negative health effects and suggest that dairy trans fats can be safely included in a balanced diet.