Scientists Change Cows'
Diet for Healthier Milk

Cows fed rapeseed oil as part of their daily diet produce milk with significantly less saturated fat, British scientists said.

Cows eating 600 grams of oil a day produced milk with 35 percent more oleic acid, the unsaturated fat that is also present in olive oil, and 26 percent less palmitic acid, the saturated fat linked to heart disease and obesity.

Anna Fearon and colleagues at Queens University Belfast tested three different amounts of rapeseed oil--200 g, 400 g, and 600 g a day--while a control group got none.

The results, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, showed a clear dose response, and the cows themselves remained healthy.

"The milk fat changes showed no signs of plateauing-out as the amount of dietary rapeseed increased," the authors said in a statement.

"It seems likely that by giving dairy cows even more oil supplement in their diet, we can achieve an even more beneficial balance of fatty acids."

SOURCE: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2004.