Diet of cows can reduce saturated fat intake without sacrificing benefits of milk
Supplementing the diet of cows could bring considerable benefits to human health without a need to reduce the intake of milk products, University of Reading scientists have discovered.
As part of the EU Lipgene Project, University of Reading researchers in the Nutritional Sciences Research Unit have demonstrated that changing the feeding regimes of dairy cows can reduce the saturated fat content of milk by 22%. This would lead to a reduction in the amount of saturated fat in normal diets, and in turn lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
"Despite the recognised benefits of reducing saturated fats in our diet most people in the UK still consume too much," said Professor Ian Givens from the University of Reading, and one of the principal scientists on the EU Lipgene programme. "But simply reducing milk consumption may be counterproductive," he continued. "A public health strategy to reduce the intake of milk and dairy products would ignore the fact that these foods are also key sources of other important nutrients including vitamin B12 and Ca.
"Our research set out to discover ways of reducing the amount of saturated fat in the average diet, by investigating methods of lowering the SFA content of milk fat, rather than reducing the dietary intake of milk products. We decreased the SFA content of milk fat by including rapeseed supplements high in mono-unsaturated C18 fatty acids in the diet of the dairy cows.
In the UK, CVD accounts for almost 40% of the annual total of about 580,000 deaths placing an annual cost of some £18 billion on the NHS. Scotland and Northern England suffer a larger than average death rate from CVD. Dietary fat content and composition is considered one of the most important modifiable determinants of CVD risk, with a 1% reduction in saturated fat intake predicted to result in a 3% decrease in CVD risk,
The University of Reading has been a key partner in the Lipgene Project, one aim of which was to seek sustainable ways of improving the type of fat in the EU diet.
