Close Banner

Integrative Health

This “Bad” Fat In Dairy Is Not Linked To Heart Disease, Study Shows

Author: Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN

May 08, 2026

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

By Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN is a Registered Dietician Nutritionist with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Texas Christian University and a master’s in nutrition interventions, communication, and behavior change from Tufts University. She lives in Newport Beach, California, and enjoys connecting people to the food they eat and how it influences health and wellbeing.

Image by Sophia Hsin / Stocksy

May 08, 2026

Dairy is a food category that people have a lot of opinions on. However, the research continues to show that consuming this food group is linked to a variety of benefits. Including dairy in the diet has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, improved gut health, better cognition (lower dementia risk), and even a reduced risk of heart disease.

The heart disease connection has always intrigued researchers and healthcare providers, as dairy contains types of fat that have been deemed “bad” for health. This includes saturated fats as well as some naturally occurring trans fats (they are structurally similar to artificial trans fats in processed foods, but are still slightly different).

As industrial trans fats have been phased out of the food supply, dairy has become one of the main remaining dietary sources of trans fats. So, researchers wanted to know whether these naturally occurring dairy trans fats have the same harmful cardiometabolic effects1. Spoiler: They didn’t. Here’s what you need to know.

About the study

To better understand whether naturally occurring trans fats in dairy foods affect cardiometabolic health, researchers conducted a large systematic review and meta-analysis examining both short-term clinical trials and long-term population studies.

First, they analyzed 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which participants consumed dairy products like butter, cheese, and milk that were naturally enriched in trans fats by altering the cows’ diets. These studies compared higher-trans-fat dairy foods to conventional dairy products and measured changes in markers tied to heart and metabolic health, including cholesterol, triglycerides, and other blood lipids.

The researchers also reviewed 12 prospective cohort studies that tracked participants over time to examine whether blood levels of dairy-associated trans fats (specifically trans palmitoleic acid and vaccenic acid) were associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cardiovascular mortality, or type 2 diabetes.

RELATED READ: How Much Cheese Is Healthy To Eat?

Dairy trans fats didn’t hurt heart health markers or increase disease risk

Across the RCTs, researchers found that consuming higher amounts of naturally occurring trans fats from dairy foods did not significantly worsen most blood lipid markers associated with cardiovascular disease risk.

Specifically, higher intakes of dairy-derived trans fats did not significantly increase:

- Total cholesterol

- LDL (“bad”) cholesterol

- Triglycerides

- ApoB

Researchers did observe a slight decrease in HDL (“good”) cholesterol in some analyses, but the finding became inconsistent after additional testing..

In addition,researchers found no evidence that higher circulating levels of dairy trans fats increased the risk of:

- Cardiovascular disease

- Coronary heart disease

- Stroke

- Cardiovascular mortality

These findings were consistent across multiple populations and follow-up periods, including studies spanning more than a decade.

What about metabolic benefits? Interestingly, several of the observational studies found that people with higher blood levels of dairy-associated trans fats (particularly trans palmitoleic acid) had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

RELATED READ: How I Finally Got My ApoB Down After Years Of Heart-Healthy Habits

Why are dairy trans fats different?

One of the key takeaways from the paper is that naturally occurring trans fats in dairy foods are structurally and nutritionally different from industrial trans fats previously found in partially hydrogenated oils.

The authors note that the overall “food matrix” likely matters. This means that the health effects of a nutrient may depend not just on the nutrient itself, but also on the other nutrients the food provides (in this case, proteins, minerals, fatty acids, probiotics, and other bioactive compounds).

RELATED READ: The 5 Best Whey Proteins For Muscle Growth & Maintenance

The takeaway

Dairy can absolutely be a part of a heart-healthy diet—even whole-fat dairy, reduced-fat, or skim. Choose based on your preference and what fits best into your personal goals. Not sure where to start? Try this RD-approved yogurt bowl (with 40+ grams of protein) for an easy breakfast.

1 Source

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science