Semi-skimmed milk straight from the cow - scientists put Daisy on a diet

Dislike counting calories? Don’t want to give up cheese? Don't worry: the cows are doing the dieting instead.

Scientists from the University of Reading have found that by making the right nutritional

DO you dislike counting calories? Do you hate the prospect of giving up cheese? Don't worry: just make the cows do the dieting instead.

As everyone knows, you are what you eat. However by that logic you are also what you eat eats. So rather than eschewing cream pies in favour of tasteless low calorie nonsense made from seeds, scientists have explored the possibility of passing the pain down the food chain - and feeding Daisy the seeds instead.

Several groups of dairy cows were given oilseed supplements over the course of three years of experiments, after which the fat content of their milk was tested.

Scientists from the University of Reading found that by making the right nutritional intervention they could cause levels of saturated fat to drop by more than a quarter. However, for those fearing a knock-on impact on taste, other less harmful mono-unsaturated fats had made up the difference - leading to the prospect of full fat fondues without the attendant heart attacks.

"Milk and dairy products are our biggest source of saturated fats," said Ian Givens. "The question is, if we can replace some of the saturated fat in milk with more healthy fat, do we get more benefit?"

Past studies have shown that even for those who can forgo the cheese, cutting out dairy entirely is counterproductive - the healthy ingredients in milk more than compensate for the fat. "In long-term studies the people who consume the most milk have 10 to 15 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, compared to those who consume the least," said Professor Givens. "Something about milk provides benefits and balances out negative effects. We have been looking at methods of changing the diet of the cow to make milk even better. It is about replacing saturated fats with mono-unsaturated ones, the sort you get in olive oil."

The question is though, does it actually taste the same? Is this full fat milk as Britons know it, or some sort of olive oil-flavoured imitation? The results of trials on humans have yet to be conducted, but Professor Givens said there appeared to be little difference. "We have looked at taste issues. We haven't seen any effect on that at all."

The only thing he can think of is that less saturated fat could affect the texture. "There may be an issue with cheese," he said. "It could be that hard cheese might be softer."

The research, which was published in the Journal of Dairy Science, will be presented today at the "Healthy cows, healthy humans, healthy planet" symposium.

The Times