Madam, - I refer to the article "New bans for trans" by Conor Pope (June 4th).
While there is a sharper, and welcome, focus in the media on the dangers of synthetic trans fatty acids, it is of increasing concern, not just to the National Diary Council but also to dietitians and nutritionists generally, that not sufficient distinction is being drawn between naturally occurring trans fats, which are good, and synthetically produced trans fats, which are bad.
There is absolutely no scientific evidence that the type of trans fats in dairy products are harmful to health. On the contrary, dairy foods are a rich source of natural, beneficial trans fats, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which has many biological benefits. The Internationally renowned nutrition expert Prof Robert Heaney emphasised this very point at the National Dairy Council's scientific meeting in the Westin Hotel last Tuesday.
Medical literature has coalesced over the past two decades and now identifies adequate intake of dairy foods as a common factor in reducing the burden of many common medical conditions, including heart disease.
There is also growing evidence that CLA has potent protecting properties against cancer. This may explain the results of the Norwegian Women and Cancer study (NOWAC), involving 48,844 women, which found that those who were life-long milk drinkers had a significantly lower risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer.
Given that Irish women consume only one-and-a-half servings daily of milk, cheese or yogurt compared with the three servings recommended by the Department of Health, it is important that they do not receive any encouragement to further restrict that intake. - Yours, etc,
AIMI BAKER, Senior Nutritionist, National Dairy Council, Westland Square, Dublin 2.