One side-effect of people cutting out fat is cutting out conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a component of fat that has been shown to slow the process of some types of cancer and heart disease, and appears to actually help reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass. In a study published last year in the Journal of Nutrition, Canadian researchers recruited more than 600 subjects who completed food frequency questionnaires. They were also measured to assess waist-hip ratio (WHR). The total intake of protein averaged less then 16 percent in subjects with the highest WHR (indicating excessive abdominal fat). Subjects who had the lowest WHR averaged nearly 17.5 percent intake of protein.
Why would protein have this effect? The fatty acid CLA might provide the answer. CLA is most abundant in protein-rich dietary sources such as meat and dairy products. It's also available in supplement form, and studies have shown that CLA supplements may help reduce body fat mass.
Regular cow’s milk available at the grocery store contains an average of 4.5 milligrams of CLA per gram of fat. The lower the fat content of the milk, the less CLA. The CLA content of milk is as much as five times higher when cows graze green, growing pastures than when they eat diets consisting of 50 percent conserved forage, such as alfalfa and corn silage and 50 percent grain.
People might want to think about the milligrams of CLA they are passing up in their efforts to cut out all the dairy and meat fats from their diet.
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