Milk:a 21st century cancer fighter

By Dionne Pearson

Thanks to Alberta researchers, one of the best sources of calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals could be even more important to health.

Milk has been a dietary staple forever, but now there’s one more reason to drink up – it’s called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA for short.

CLA is an essential fatty acid found in milk fat. It’s been shown to be one of the most potent, naturallyoccurring anticarcinogens (cancer fighters) and University of Alberta researchers are looking to increase its concentration in dairy products.

“We’re trying to create the right conditions in the cow to maximize the amount of CLA produced,”

says dairy scientist John Kennelly, who heads the University of Alberta’s Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science. “So far, we’ve achieved the highest levels yet – a tenfold increase of CLA compared to what’s usually found in milk.”

CLA is formed when bacteria in the rumen (the cow’s first stomach) breaks down the dietary fat found in forage and grain. By adjusting the cow’s diet, Kennelly and his team have increased CLA in milk.

Natural CLA is best

While CLA can easily be synthesized in a lab, Kennelly says there are actually many different types of CLA that can be produced. Cows, on the other hand, produce a simple, very clean form of CLA.

“CLA has always been present in milk, so it’s not like we’re producing something that we haven’t been exposed to in the past,” says Kennelly.

With increased levels of CLA in milk, what’s the next step?

According to Catherine Field, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Alberta, more research is key. “Everything says that CLA may be beneficial, but we still don’t know what makes CLA work,” she says. “The research is still in the infancy stage, but CLA definitely has a lot of potential.”

Field is heading up a team investigating the effect CLA has on the immune system and cancer defence systems. “We’re also looking at how it inhibits tumor growth and so far the results have been positive.”

Networking for the future

Kennelly and Field aren’t the only researchers interested in CLA. In October 2001, Alberta researchers and industry partners, including Alberta beef and Alberta milk industry representatives, got together to discuss the future of this cancerfighting compound. The result was the CLA Network – an initiative to coordinate research and development work related to CLA.

Heather Loeppky, a researcher with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, is a member of the Leadership Team of the CLA Network. “The Network is not only an innovative idea from the standpoint of developing a nutraceutical or functional food product,” says Loeppky. “ It’s also a unique way of coordinating research and partnering with investors to address gaps from a ‘big picture’ perspective.”

Says Kennelly: “When the research substantiates the benefits of CLA for humans, we’ll be ready.”

Cheese protects against cavities by stimulating saliva production, which helps to clear away sugars.