Compound in dairy products targets diabetes

Food & Drink Weekly, August 7, 2006

Compound In Dairy Products Targets Diabetes: Researchers at Penn State University have found that fatty acids commonly found in dairy products have successfully treated diabetes in mice. They also say the compounds, known as conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), have shown promising results in human trials, signaling a new way of potentially treating the disease without synthetic drugs.

Adult-onset diabetes is fast becoming an epidemic and is largely associated with poor diet and nutrition and other lifestyle issues. Researchers believe the reason for the increase in diabetes may have to do with the ratio of so-called "good" and "bad" fats, with the average American diet containing too much of the "bad" fats. CLA, whose effect is very similar to fish oil, a source of "good" fat, could prove beneficial against Type-2 diabetes. And compared to the synthetic drugs used to treated this disease, CLA does not cause weight gain and may in fact decrease overall body fat.