Nutr Res. 2026 Mar 27;150:33-48. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2026.03.009. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Dairy foods are becoming one of the major dietary sources of trans fatty acids (TFA) as global initiatives to eliminate industrially produced TFA are implemented. This systematic review aimed to assess the cardiometabolic effects of TFA from dairy foods, using data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies (PCS). We hypothesized that TFA from dairy foods would have no effect on biomarkers for or risk of cardiovascular diseases. Searches for RCTs and PCS were conducted in PubMed and EMBASE using PRISMA guidelines. RCTs compared the impact on blood lipids of regular dairy foods with TFA-enhanced dairy fat/foods produced by altering the cow's diet. Pooled meta-analysis of RCTs using the random effects model was performed for total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol/HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/HDL-C, triacylglycerols, apolipoprotein A1, and apolipoprotein B as continuous variables. Selected PCS analyzed associations between blood concentrations of trans vaccenic acid or trans palmitoleic acid and risk of cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes. Among 10 RCTs, there were no significant differences in mean difference for any lipid biomarkers except for a slight decrease in HDL-C (mean difference: -0.05 mmol/L; confidence interval: -0.10 to -0.00) for TFA-enriched vs. regular dairy foods. Among 12 PCS, circulating concentrations of trans vaccenic acid or trans palmitoleic acid were not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases incidence, mortality, or type 2 diabetes. Consumption of TFA (1.3-13.2 g/d) from different types of dairy foods was not linked to adverse effects on cardiometabolic health.
PMID:42034918 | DOI:10.1016/j.nutres.2026.03.009