Good News for Diabetics?

I’m trying to bring more positive than negative reports in the holiday week.  Here’s something for diabetics who like cheese and dairy products.  It’s from a study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health investigated the importance of a fatty acid, trans-palmitoleic acid, with regard to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  Fatty acids are found in oils and other fats in the diet, as well as being manufactured in the body.  The scientists studied a variety of factors at baseline in more than 3,700 adults over 65 during a 14-year period: height, weight, plasma phospholipid fatty acids, blood lipids, inflammatory markers (e.g. CRP), and glucose/insulin levels; answers to food frequency questionnaires had been obtained 3 years earlier.

At baseline, higher circulating levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were associated with a lessened body weight, healthier levels of blood cholesterol, inflammatory markers, insulin levels and insulin sensitivity.  During follow-up, those subjects with higher trans-palmitoleate had a lower risk of developing diabetes: among the top 20% of them, ranked according to trans-palmitoleate levels, the risk was 60% lower.

Most interesting, however, was the finding that self-reported consumption of whole-fat dairy (which includes cheese) was associated with higher levels of circulating trans-palmitoleic acid 3 years later.  This fatty acid is found in dairy fat, and the consequence of the study negates the usual advice from health experts to reduce or eliminate full-fat dairy products.  I hope this report comes in time for you to enjoy your holidays a little bit more. . .  But, of course, the usual caveat: further study is required to evaluate whether trans-palmitoleate has positive health effects.