University of Alberta researchers are pursuing a new study to investigate how a natural fatty acid found in dairy and beef can target a metabolic syndrome linked to infertility and cardiovascular disease risk.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in its natural form is produced only by ruminant animals and is commonly found in products such as milk, yogurt, cheese and beef. The researchers are investigating how CLA may help fight against poly cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects one in 10 women of childbearing age and is a leading cause of infertility. PCOS is also highly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes risk.
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“Our preliminary research to date has provided a strong indication that CLA may have beneficial effects for reducing CVD and diabetes risk factors which are associated with PCOS,” Dr. Donna Vine of the Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory at the Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition said in a release.
One key study led by Dr. Spencer Proctor examined benefits of CLA used in combination with chromium.
“There’s a lot of work in the diabetes field around growing evidence that certain types of chromium, taken as a tablet or a nutraceutical, can help control the use of insulin and glucose,” says Proctor. “Our work indicated CLA combined with chromium as an intervention may have enhanced benefits, including specific relevance for PCOS.
The U of A scientists are participants in the CLA Network, a group of researchers and people in supporting disciplines across Canada.
