Industry-funded study of the week: dairy trans fats

I learned about this one from a press release: Natural trans fats in dairy do not raise heart disease risk.

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.

Who, I wondered, could possibly have paid for this study?

Bingo!

This research was funded by the National Dairy Council (USA). Several authors work for or receive funding from dairy interbranch or industry organisations.

I could see why the dairy industry would fund something like this.

Ruminants—cattle and dairy cows—naturally hydrogenate unsaturated fatty acids and convert them to trans fats, the bad kind that raise the risk of heart disease.

Meat and dairy producers would love to be able to show that naturally hydrogenated trans fats are healthier than those that are artificially hydrogenated.  Hence this study.

The study:  Gayet-Boyer, C., Tenenhaus-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. Nutrition Research, 150, 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2026.03.009

Comment: Would independent scientists who demonstrated the harm of artificial trans fats find something different with ruminant trans fats?  I’d like to see those studies.