CLA - Conjugated Linoleic Acid News

Natural dairy fat shows promise for a range of human health benefits

Red Deer, Alta., Jan. 23, 2007

The 150 Holstein cows that call the Edmonton Research Station home are not your ordinary bovine milk producers. They are innovators, producing milk designed for use in products with enhanced levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

CLA is a "good fat" produced by ruminants and found naturally in dairy and beef products. Though the CLA research effort is young, pioneering studies based largely on animal models have identified CLA potential for human health benefits related to cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease and bone density.

"CLA has shown significant health promoting properties, including potent anticarcinogenic activity," says Dr. John Kennelly, a professor of dairy cattle nutrition and metabolism and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, University of Alberta. "That presents a very promising opportunity for Canada's dairy industry."

The dairy cows on station as part of the university's Dairy Research and Technology Centre have been used to produce CLA-enhanced milk and butter oil for use in a series of animal studies by scientists in the Alberta-based CLA Network and Health Canada. This component of the CLA Network's research is designed to examine the health benefits of CLA in animals consuming the CLA-enriched dairy products.

"The animal work is an important part of a broader plan to support commercial production of CLA-enriched dairy products," says Kennelly, a member of the CLA Network. "Already, we have shown that with using practical dairy feeding strategies it is possible to increase the concentration of CLA in bovine milk by five times or more. If we can strengthen the connection between this production potential and the rising health potential, it will be a great step forward for this effort."

With continued progress, CLA could become a valuable marketing feature of dairy products in the future, he says. Because CLA is already found naturally in dairy products, it can help strengthen the health image and increase demand for existing products. If potential enriched products are confirmed to have added health value, then those advantages can be multiplied with a number of new product opportunities.

In past research led by Kennelly, results have indicated the approximate level of CLA in the human diet ranges from 52 to 137 mg per day, based on typical consumption of existing dairy and beef products.

The levels needed to deliver human health benefits need to be confirmed, says Kennelly, but signs are a level of just 1.5 grams per day or less may be health significant. "Determining the significant level for humans remains a work in progress, but if the results thus far hold true, it appears normal consumption of dairy and beef products could be enough for a benefit. Products with enriched CLA levels would potentially allow consumers to obtain significant levels more quickly and easily."

CLA is produced naturally in dairy animals when fat sources containing linoleic or linolenic acid from livestock feed is converted into CLA, as a result of microorganism activity in the rumen and the mammary gland. Studies have confirmed this natural CLA is transferred into dairy products as a portion of milk fat, and the natural CLA level can be multiplied through a variety of livestock production strategies.

Founded in Alberta in 2001, the CLA Network is a collaborative team from academia, industry and government, including representatives from many areas of expertise such as research, food industry, health and communications.

More detailed information on dairy-related CLA Network progress, including further perspective from Kennelly is available in a new article available on the Web, at www.CLAnetwork.com.

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