The cheese mentioned in this study is an Italian cheese called Pecerino.
The most popular type in the US is called Pecerino Romano,an aged cheese with a salty taste.
Consuming cheese from ewe�s milk, rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), may reduce markers linked to heart disease, suggest results from a small Italian study.
Researchers from the University of Florence report that ewe�s milk rich in cis-9, trans-11 CLA produced favourable changes in inflammatory cytokines and platelet aggregation, both of which are associated with atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries due to the build-up of fatty deposits on artery walls.
Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of coronary heart disease (CHD), which costs the British public health system more than �5bn per year.
�These observations, although preliminary and obtained in a limited study group, seem to be of relevance for the practical implications in terms of nutrition and health of the general population,� wrote the researchers in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.
�If the effects of dairy products naturally enriched for their contents of cis-9, trans-11 CLA are confirmed by further examinations, this will likely have important implications for human nutrition and food industry.�
Cheese � ewe decide
Researchers, led by Francesco Sofi, recruited 10 subjects with an average age of 51.5 and randomly assigned them to consume a diet containing 200 grams per week of cheese from ewe�s milk (pecorino cheese), naturally rich in CLA, or cheese from cow�s milk (placebo), for 10 weeks.
Sofi and his co-workers report that consumption of the CLA-rich ewe�s cheese produced significant reductions in inflammatory markers, including a 43 per cent reduction in interleukin-6 (IL-6), a 36 per cent reduction in IL-8, and a 40 per cent reduction in tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). No significant changes were observed following 10 weeks of placebo, they added.
Furthermore, a 10 per cent reduction in the extent of platelet aggregation, induced by arachidonic acid, was observed for the CLA-cheese group, compared to placebo.
�CLAs have been previously reported to attenuate inflammatory cytokine expression in animals and humans, and it has been recently reported that they are able to inhibit the expression of cytokine-induced adhesion molecules on endothelial and smooth muscle cells,� wrote the researchers.
�Thus, it is conceivable to hypothesise that CLAs are able to attenuate the atherosclerotic process through inhibition of the initiating inflammatory cytokines, such as those measured in our study, as well as through inhibition of the stress signalling cascades these cytokines elicit,� they added.
Source: Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2009.03.004 �Effects of a dairy product (pecorino cheese) naturally rich in cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid on lipid, inflammatory and haemorheological variables: A dietary intervention study�
Authors: F. Sofi, A. Buccioni, F. Cesari, A.M. Gori, S. Minieri, L. Mannini, A. Casini, G.F. Gensini, R. Abbate, M. Antongiovanni
It seems a little one sided to me since they don't say what the animals were fed. Grass-fed cows are known to have much more CLA than dairy cows commonly used to supply milk in the US. What kind of US cheese did they use as a placebo...natural cheddar or American plastic? No doubt the pecorino cheese is great, but I'm not keen on eating ewe cheese and like to have an alternative.
CLA has been researched heavily and has generated a lot of excitement but it seems to have dissipated. There was an article in Science News about it, back in about 2001. And you know what the best source was? Cheeze Whiz. No kidding.
I've stopped taking Science News because they have succumbed to the drug companies. They have had more and more articles about how such and such plant has something good and is being developed into a new drug. THey also had excellent summaries of Vitamin D research, lead being in chocolate, etc. They went to a new format and are biweekly now. They dropped the nutrition section completely! Sad. Science is being taken over by money interests.
I just had an example of that in my older brother who is 10 years older than me and very set in his ways against natural remedies and believes drugs are the only tested, and thus the only safe, substances available for today's diseases. In our telephone conversation earlier this evening, and several times in the last few weeks, he's gone on and on about how powerful the new 'researched and developed' resveratrol product is than even the 250 mg high quality natural resveratrol I get from LEF. So I looked this product up tonight and it has taken them 10 years to develope this "synthetic" resveratrol...which they add to natural resveratrol to make it more powerful! It sounds as though it has taken ten years to produce something chemically that resembles resveratrol, and then they make a big deal about how pure it is! They might have fooled my brother but they haven't fooled me! You are exactly right about science being taken over by money interests!
I wondered what was going on with all the resveratrol ads. Barbara Walters esp. And all the actresses that aged very well. What BS. The resveratrol won't reverse your age so the actresses would have to have been taking it for many years. Maybe the name gets rearranged in your head to reverseatrol. Anyway if Barbara Walters says it's good, it must really be!
I've been taking resveratrol for at least 6 years or maybe 7 or 8 because I took a product called Well Heart and another called the French Paradox' with resveratrol for a long time before Life Extention started selling it...and I can guarantee as living proof that it doesn't make you any younger or cause you to lose weight. Barbara Walters looks good for her age, but I think if the truth be known, she's probably had a few face lifts and maybe cosmetic surgery, because I remember her complexion wasn't very good in the early days of her career. I think the improvement came long before she'd ever heard of resveratrol. I definately don't believe the advertising that says it worked miracles in two weeks. I have taken resveratrol as protection for my cardiovascular system, which was what it was origionally believed to do for Italians when they drank red wine with their meals.
I believe I was wrong in saying that the new super pill is a synthetic mixed with resveratrol. I spent a lot of time looking for the article where I read that in and it disappeared. They are very careful not to say much in listing ingredients, but the one rated best that I saw was simply resveratrol from a special source and the strength was 150 mg....my LEF capsules are 250 mg!! There are a lot of different brands and some are mixed with acai. My brother thought the brand he heard about might have been Resvita, and the one Dr. Oz recommends is resV. One #1 rated brand of resveratrol that made the most sense was a lozenge that dissolved under the tongue...they say you can absorb it better that way than through the stomach. I didn't get the brand, but I remember that it was 150 mg.
So, in all the searching I did, all I can see is one benefit for all the resveratrol producers on the market...they just got a boost in their price, whether their product is good or bad.
I just ran across this article by LEF about research in 2007 to attempt to determine the required amount of resveratrol needed by humans. At that time LEF sold a 20 mg capsul, later going to 100 mg and now 250 mg, but the article shows that only a small dose is needed. Later research may have changed their thinking.
CLA Rich Cheese May Boost Heart Health
Linear Mode
