{"id":815,"date":"2026-05-26T11:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/?p=815"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:10:13","slug":"natural-trans-fats-in-dairy-do-not-raise-heart-disease-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/natural-trans-fats-in-dairy-do-not-raise-heart-disease-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Natural trans fats in dairy do not raise heart disease risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trans fats found naturally in dairy foods such as milk, butter and cheese do not increase the risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes, a new study has found.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers\u00a0analysed\u00a0evidence from 22 studies involving thousands of people across Europe, Canada\u00a0and the United States and found that natural trans fats behave very differently in the body from the\u00a0industrial\u00a0kind. Unlike industrial trans fats, which are strongly linked to heart disease, those found in dairy appear to pose no risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first-of-its-kind research, published in the journal<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a>Nutrition Research<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0will\u00a0also\u00a0raise consumer\u2019s awareness\u00a0of this\u00a0topic\u00a0and\u00a0provide clarity on\u00a0trans fat\u00a0labelling policies which may\u00a0cause\u00a0confusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Ian Givens,\u00a0one of\u00a0lead authors, and\u00a0from the University of Reading, said: “People hear the words ‘trans fats’ and assume the worst, but the trans fats in your morning milk, yogurt, butter\u00a0or cheese are not the same as the ones from\u00a0industrial\u00a0partially hydrogenated fats. This research should give people reassurance that dairy, eaten as part of a\u00a0balanced\u00a0diet, is not something to worry about for your heart.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Two types of trans fat, <\/span>two different stories<\/span><\/h4>\n

Trans fats, a type of unsaturated fat, occur naturally in the milk of animals such as cows,\u00a0sheep\u00a0and goats, but can also be made artificially during\u00a0the production of partially\u00a0hydrogenated fats. The\u00a0industrial\u00a0type,\u00a0can\u00a0be\u00a0found in\u00a0some\u00a0processed and fried foods,\u00a0are\u00a0strongly linked to heart disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

To test whether dairy trans fats affect heart health, the researchers looked at two types of evidence. The first was\u00a0ten\u00a0dietary\u00a0controlled\u00a0trials in which people\u00a0consumed\u00a0dairy foods\u00a0with naturally enhanced\u00a0trans fats\u00a0and compared with regular dairy foods. Scientists then measured the effect on blood\u00a0lipid biomarkers, which are used\u00a0to\u00a0determine\u00a0heart disease risk. Across all ten trials, covering\u00a0trans fat\u00a0intakes ranging from 1.3 to 13.2 grams per day, there were\u00a0no meaningful\u00a0<\/span>differences\u00a0in blood lipid levels\u00a0between\u00a0trans fat-enhanced dairy foods\u00a0versus\u00a0regular dairy foods.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second type of evidence came from twelve long-term\u00a0cohort\u00a0studies that\u00a0tracked thousands of people over many years, in some cases more than two decades, and measured the levels of dairy trans fats in their blood. None of these studies found that higher levels of dairy trans fats were linked to a greater risk of heart disease,\u00a0stroke\u00a0or cardiovascular death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Likewise,\u00a0higher levels of dairy trans fats in their blood\u00a0were\u00a0not\u00a0linked with\u00a0type 2 diabetes\u00a0risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notes to editors:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Ian Givens is available for\u00a0interview. Contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gayet-Boyer, C.,\u00a0Tenenhaus-Aziza, F., Torres-Gonzalez, M., Givens, D.I., & Schweitzer, C. (2026). Trans fatty acids from dairy foods do not affect risk of cardiometabolic diseases: Systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence from randomized controlled trials and systematic review of prospective cohort studies.\u00a0<\/span>Nutrition Research<\/span>, 150, 33\u201348.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.nutres.2026.03.009<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

This research was funded by the National Dairy Council (USA). Several authors work for or receive funding from dairy interbranch or industry organisations.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trans fats found naturally in dairy foods such as milk, butter and cheese do not increase the risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes, a new study has found….Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1187,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNatural trans fats in dairy do not raise heart disease risk - Agrifood Futures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/natural-trans-fats-in-dairy-do-not-raise-heart-disease-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Natural trans fats in dairy do not raise heart disease risk - 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