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Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of the consumption of two cheese varieties differing for fat quality on blood lipid profile and redox status biomarkers in 30 selected healthy volunteers, consuming either the experimental cheese (from milk produced by cows fed a grass and maize silage based diet with 5% of linseed oil added) or the control cheese (from normal cows' milk) for 4 weeks according to a crossover design. The experimental cheese had a lower content of medium-chain saturated fatty acids and a higher content of stearic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids; its consumption led to higher levels of vitamins C and E and stearic acid in blood, while myristic acid and oxidized low-density lipoprotein concentrations were significantly lower. As myristic acid and oxidized low-density lipoprotein are highly correlated with increased atherogenic risk and vitamins C and E with antioxidant activity, the enrichment of cows' diet with linseed oil could provide a dietary option to prevent cardiovascular diseases risk.
Declarations of interest: The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr Sergio Corelli for his medical assistance during the study, Mr Paolo Gabrielli, Dr Pamela Manzi and Dr Maria Mattera for their contribution to the cheese chemical analysis, and Prof Lorenzo Maria Donini for his precious advice. Finally, thanks are also given to all study participants. The present work is supported by the TRUEFOOD project. TRUEFOOD ‘Traditional United Europe Food’ is an Integrated Project financed by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme for RTD (Contract number FOOD-CT-2006-016264). The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.