Healthier Fatty Acids Found in Organic Milk

Organic milk contains a healthier balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids compared with milk from cows raised on conventionally managed dairy farms, according to a new study.

Add it to the list of things that are bad for you: milk!

The healthier fatty acid profile of organic milk is likely a result of cows foraging on grass, the researchers said.

The scientists took 400 samples of organic and conventional milk from multiple regions in the United States over an 18-month period, and looked for the levels of various fatty acids in the milk. In particular, they looked for the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 contents , essential fatty acids that the human body cannot make from other raw materials and needs to obtain from diet.

The lab results showed that organic milk had an average ratio of omega-6 fatty acid to omega-3 fatty acid of 2.3, whereas conventional milk had an average ratio of 5.8, according to the study published today (Dec. 9) in the journal PLOS ONE. The study was partly funded by two organic farmers' cooperative organizations, which were not involved in the design of the study.

A high ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids in people's diets has been linked to a higher risk of health problems, such as heart disease . Studies have suggested that the healthiest ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet is about 2.3.

The results are in line with previous research showing that eating grass and legumes promotes cow health as well as improves the fatty acid profile of organic dairy products, said study author Charles Benbrook, of the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University.
"The impact of fresh grass on the fatty acid profile of the milk is a well-accepted phenomenon. It is rooted in the physiology and metabolism of dairy cows," Benbrook said.

"A conventional farm that provides their cows with access to grass would reap the same benefit in terms of the quality of the milk," Benbrook added.

Organic farmers are required to follow standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture. These rules include providing access to the outdoors, including to pasture for ruminants.

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New Study Suggests Low Vitamin D Causes Damage to Brain

Dec. 2, 2013 — A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers suggests that a diet low in vitamin D causes damage to the brain.

In addition to being essential for maintaining bone health, newer evidence shows that vitamin D serves important roles in other organs and tissue, including the brain. Published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the UK study showed that middle-aged rats that were fed a diet low in vitamin D for several months developed free radical damage to the brain, and many different brain proteins were damaged as identified by redox proteomics. These rats also showed a significant decrease in cognitive performance on tests of learning and memory.

"Given that vitamin D deficiency is especially widespread among the elderly, we investigated how during aging from middle-age to old-age how low vitamin D affected the oxidative status of the brain," said lead author on the paper Allan Butterfield, professor in the UK Department of Chemistry, director of the Center of Membrane Sciences, faculty of Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, and director of the Free Radical Biology in Cancer Core of the Markey Cancer Center. "Adequate vitamin D serum levels are necessary to prevent free radical damage in brain and subsequent deleterious consequences."

Previously, low levels of vitamin D have been associated with Alzheimer's disease, and it's also been linked to the development of certain cancers and heart disease. In both the developed world and in areas of economic hardship where food intake is not always the most nutritious, vitamin D levels in humans are often low, particularly in the elderly population. Butterfield recommends persons consult their physicians to have their vitamin D levels determined, and if low that they eat foods rich in vitamin D, take vitamin D supplements, and/or get at least 10-15 minutes of sun exposure each day to ensure that vitamin D levels are normalized and remain so to help protect the brain.