The Study
Serum lipidomic profiling of dairy calves fed milk replacers containing animal or vegetable fats.
This study showed that when baby cows eat different kinds of fat in their milk, their blood has different kinds of fats in it. But we can't say one kind of fat is better or worse — just that it changes what’s in their blood.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Baby cows fed milk made with animal fat (like lard) had different fats in their blood than those fed milk made with plant fats (like rapeseed).
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 512 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes - this suggests the type of fat in their food changes how their bodies make and use fats for cell membranes and signaling.
- 2171 types of fats were lower, and 39 types were higher in the blood of calves fed animal fat.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of dairy science
Year
2024
Authors
M. Ghaffari, J. Wilms, D. Caruso, H. Sauerwein, L. Leal
Related Content
Claims (4)
When baby cows are fed different kinds of fat in their milk substitute, their blood fats change in noticeable ways—like having more or less of certain types of fats in their bloodstream.
When baby cows are fed milk substitute with animal fat instead of plant fat, their blood shows different types of fats—some important ones are lower—which might mean their bodies are processing fats and building cell membranes differently.
When baby cows are fed a special milk substitute made with animal fats instead of plant fats, their blood shows less of certain fat-related molecules, which might mean their bodies are processing fats differently.
If you swap out natural fats from animals (like butter or lard) for man-made or heavily processed fat substitutes, your body might not get the special fat molecules it needs to keep cells healthy and send proper chemical signals.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.