Research

Hormonal

Consumption of industrial trans fatty acids (iTFA) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction through pro-inflammatory actions and atherosclerosis development, whereas ruminant trans fatty acids (rTFA) may possess anti-atherogenic properties.

Be mindful of industrial trans fats found in processed foods, as they are strongly linked to heart disease and inflammation. However, do not fear naturally occurring trans fats in animal products (like those from grass-fed animals) as much, as they may not carry the same risks and might even offer some protection against atherosclerosis.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Trans fatty acids have also been strongly associated with an increased incidence of myocardial infarctions through atherosclerotic and coronary artery disease development in human and mouse trials [2, 29-32]. It appears to induce this effect via pro-inflammatory actions [32]. However, not all TFAs appear to induce atherosclerosis. The iTFA elaidic acid, induces atherosclerosis whereas the rTFA, vaccenic acid, prevents the development of atherosclerotic lesions in low density lipoprotein knockout (LDLr-/-) mice fed high cholesterol diets [33].
Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2006

Why this rating

The paper cites strong human and mouse trial associations for iTFA, but notes controversy and mixed in vitro results for specific rTFAs.

Source

Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease

Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2006

DOI 10.1056/nejmra054035

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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