14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom demonstrated in a new study that organic milk has higher concentrations of beneficial fatty acids than conventional varieties. The investigation is the first long-term study of milk-fat composition across the US.
This large-scale research took 18 months to conclude, and was carried out by scientists with the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University (WSU), and with the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development at Newcastle University.
The type of fatty acids found in organic milk contribute to averting heart problems, a series of conditions that currently affects a significant percentage of the population in the United States. Heart issues remain the leading cause of death in the country.
Details of the research were published in the December 9 issue of the open-access scientific journal PLoS ONE. WUS investigators Charles M. Benbrook and Donald R. Davis, and Newcastle researchers Gillian Butler and Carlo Leifert led the study, according to The New York Times.
While studies investigating the health benefits of consuming organic fruits and vegetables have been less successful in establishing clear advantages, the conclusions of the new research became clear right away, the investigators comment.
Benbrook, who was the lead author of the PLoS ONE paper, says that drinking whole organic milk contributes to decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease in consumers. “All milk is healthy and good for people, but organic milk is better, because it has a more favorable balance of these fatty acids,” he adds.
“I think this is a very good piece of work,” says US National Institutes of Health (NIH) nutritional neuroscientist, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln. Though the study was funded by a farm cooperative that sells organic milk, scientists in the international community agree that the findings are credible.
This agreement is largely due to the fact that organic milk contains more omega-3 acids, which have been proven to offer numerous health benefits. This is the same class of acids found in flaxseed and fish. Conversely, conventional milk features higher amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, which are generally found in potato chips and similar foods.