This article was sent to me by Aajonus Vonderplanitz. I am not sure where he
found it.
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GOOD FAT: Infamous foods no longer all bad
produced by Heather Ross
reported by Lucky Severson
story by Julianne Remington
Dairy foods like butter contain an essential fat that may help reduce disease
“It sounds too good to be true. But research is showing that a fat called
conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, found in dairy products like butter and a
variety of meats has potential health benefits,” says Dr. Tilak Dhiman,
agricultural researcher at the Utah State University.
While consumers try to digest all the conflicting nutrition reports, researchers
have thrown another curve ball. It now looks like some high fat foods may not be
all bad. An occasional urge for ice cream, butter, steak or lamb chops could add
an essential fatty acid to the diet that helps fight cancer, heart disease and
diabetes.
They report that high levels of CLA in the diet are associated with a lower
incidence of cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes in animal studies. CLA also
seems to promote a leaner body while boosting
immune function. Some human studies are beginning to show similar findings.
CONJUGATED LINOLEIC ACID
20 to 30 percent of the calories in an ordinary diet should come from fat, say
experts, but choosing the healthiest fats and eschewing the nutritional culprits
can be tricky.
“We have a tendency to get a little information, and think that all fat is bad,”
says Dr. Dhiman. “We must distinguish between types of fats. Nutrition is very
complex, and we don't know everything about it.
“CLA occurs naturally in many foods, especially milk and meat from ruminant
animals such as cows, sheep and goats” says Dr. Dhiman. “The fatty acid is
produced by bacteria in the rumen.”
GRAZING PRODUCES MORE CLA
Plant oils like soybean, corn and safflower contain linoleic acid,
which is converted to conjugated linoleic acid by bacteria in the
stomachs of grazing animals. Consequently, dairy products and meats like beef
contain a lot of CLA.
Americans inadvertently cut their consumption of CLA when farmers changed the
way they feed cattle. “30 or 40 years ago animals mostly grazed on pasture,”
explains Dr. Dhiman. “Now their feed is controlled, which might be having a
negative impact on human health.
“In addition to cutting our CLA intake by taking cows off pasture and feeding
them conserved forage, many Americans have also made CLA intake a casualty of
their war on fat,” he adds. “That means we're almost punishing ourselves twice.”
Consumption of whole milk has dropped to less than half its 1970 level,
according to the International Dairy Foods Association. Meanwhile, sales of
nonfat and reduced-fat milk have doubled.
BOOSTING CLA CONSUMPTION
“If you consume one 8-ounce glass of whole milk a day and one serving of cheese,
that will provide about 18 mg of CLA. That's about one fifth of the minimum dose
needed to reduce cancer in rats,” says Dr. Dhiman.
“The intake of CLA can be increased by either consuming more foods of ruminant
origin, or by increasing the CLA content of milk and meat. The latter approach
is more practical.”
Dhiman’s research shows that the CLA content of milk can be enriched by adding
plant oils such as soybean and linseed to the feed that dairy cows consume.
“Feeding full fat extruded soybeans and cottonseed to dairy cows doubled the CLA
content of their milk and cheese,” he says.
CANCER RESEARCH
Michael Pariza, PhD., at the University of Wisconsin, Madison has studied the
effects of CLA in animal models of cancer for decades. In mice, CLA inhibited
cancers of the skin and stomach. In rats, it inhibited mammary and colon cancer.
Pariza and his colleague Mark Cook, PhD., found that CLA enhances growth while
strengthening the immune system in rats and chickens. They reported that adding
CLA to the mother's diet caused the rat pups to gain more lean body mass than
other pups.
CLA IN FOOD
Whole milk, butter, sour cream and meat from grazing animals are relatively rich
sources of CLA. Fresh ground beef and lamb contain the most. Fresh ground turkey
has substantial amounts too. These naturally occurring forms of CLA appear to be
many times more potent than the synthetic forms found in supplements.
Dr. Dhiman, says a new brand of CLA capsules seems to appear on the market
nearly every month. “But the supplements may be effective at different dosages
than natural forms of the compound, which tend to be 6 times stronger.”
Researchers say an overall healthy diet can include the prudent use of foods
that are rich in a specific fatty acid like CLA. The US Department of
Agriculture suggests that consumers refer to the food guide pyramid for overall
nutrition guidelines.
“Until the results are in, dietary moderation is still the best advice
for humans,” says Dr. Dhiman. But he also cautions that people might want to
think about the milligrams of CLA they are passing up if they eliminate all the
dairy and meat fat from their diets.
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