Trans fats have long been demonized for their role in causing cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. In fact, the scale of health issues caused by consuming trans fats is so big that the US Food and Drug Administration banned their use in foods in 2020.
Produced traditionally by hydrogenation of vegetable oils, trans fats are also “known to increase the risk of cancers including breast, colorectal, colon and rectal cancers,” explains Dr K Sowmya, a senior dietician at Apollo Hospitals in Secunderabad.
But now, groundbreaking research is challenging this conventional narrative, showing that some trans fats could be beneficial for health. A recent study has suggested that naturally occurring trans fats or trans-vaccenic acids (TVAs), particularly those in dairy products, may offer a way to activate our immune systems.
Activating immune systems
When studying the relation between nutrients circulating in the bloodstream and activation of the immune system, researchers from the University of Chicago and Emory University in Atlanta noticed that TVAs did a fantastic job of this through a series of reactions.
Upon further research they found that TVA activated a type of immune cell called CD8 T cells that are known to provide anti-tumor activity. The TVA was binding with a protein – GPR43 – which when activated caused a cascade of changes within cells that alerted the immune system to kill tumours
By building a blood nutrient library, researchers have identified 633 circulating nutrients that could activate our immune system. Among them, TVA was found to be the top performer.
They graded the performance through several cell line and animal studies, including an in vivo study done on the cells of three individuals with lymphoma aged 42 to 47 in which the presence of TVA increased the response of CAR-T cells, T cells that are engineered to target an antigen on the surface of cancer cells and kill them.
While the researchers observed that cells of older individuals (77 years old) did not respond to TVA treatment, in retrospective studies they found that individuals with lymphoma who responded to CART-T cell therapy had higher serum TVA levels when compared to non-responders.
Further experiments in mice showed that a diet enriched with trans fats reduced the expansion capacity of melanoma and colon cancer tumour cells, compared to animals fed a control diet.
No definitive conclusions
While today’s early research may show that trans fats could in some cases be beneficial, it is important to note that this field of study is ongoing and more research is needed to establish definitive conclusions.
“Predicting the future is inherently challenging, adding that there are several areas in which diet-based approaches may play a significant role in the management of health issues over the long term.” says Dr Hemanth Kumar Manikyam, a cancer and genomics researcher who currently works as Technical Director at Lifespan Private Limited, Genome Valley, Hyderabad.
Dr Manikyam hypothesises that trans fats could increase an individual’s immune strength in the following ways:
- Anti-inflammatory properties – TVAs potentially reduces inflammation thus reducing stress on the immune cells.
- Altering working of immune cells – TVAs are known to increase the production of cytokines by immune cells, resulting in balanced immune response during an infection
- Impact on gut health – TVAs influence the growth of gut bacteria and a healthy gut is always associated with a strong immune system
- Activation of genes related to immune system – TVAs are also known to turn on genes that contribute to a robust and balanced immune system
Research into the benefits of trans fats are still in an early stage today. Even if seen to be beneficial in the lab, that may not extend to the real world where nutrient requirements and responses can vary widely from one person to another.
Because of this, Dr Sowmya explains that while some individuals may tolerate and benefit from a diet rich in TVA, while others may not. Factors such as genetics, overall health, and pre-existing conditions could influence how individuals respond to such specific nutrients.
