CLA-Rich Butter Fights Atherosclerosis

ITHACA, N.Y.--A diet high in butter, a rich source of cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), may combat atherosclerosis, according to a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition (135, 8:1934-39, 2005).

Scientists from Cornell University fed male hamsters diets containing 0.2-percent cholesterol plus one of the following: 20-percent fat as standard butter (control group); 5-percent standard butter plus enriched butter (EB group) comprised of 15-percent rumenic acid (RA)--the main CLA isomer in milk and other ruminant fats--and vaccenic acid (VA); or 15-percent standard butter plus 5-percent partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (VO group). After four weeks, the animals were assayed for plasma lipoproteins, cholesterol and tissue fatty acid profiles. The EB group had higher tissue concentrations of VA and RA. The EB and VO groups had lower total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and the EB group had lower levels of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol concentration, as well as a lower ratio of potentially atherogenic lipoproteins (VLDL + intermediate density lipoproteins + LDL) to antiatherogenic high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL cholesterol concentrations did not differ between groups.

The researchers concluded increasing the VA/RA concentration of butter results in a plasma lipoprotein cholesterol profile associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerosis.