Dairy Compound May Reduce Diabetes Risk

Trans-palmitoleic acid is a naturally occurring fatty acid in dairy fats, and on a biological basis it may mimic its counterpart, cis-palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid that is produced in the body that protects against diabetes.  Dariush Mozaffarian, from Harvard School of Public Health (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues examined data from a study that followed 3, 3736 adults enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study. The researchers found that those adults with the highest circulating levels of trans-palmitoleic acid had the lowest risk of type-2 diabetes.  Specifically, those subjects with the highest trans-palmitoleic acid levels were found to be at 60% lower risk of developing diabetes, as compared to the subjects at the bottom 20%.  Writing that: “Circulating trans-palmitoleate is associated with lower insulin resistance, presence of atherogenic dyslipidemia, and incident diabetes,” the team submits that: “Our findings may explain previously observed metabolic benefits of dairy consumption.”