Many meat and dairy products from cows and sheep contain an unusual type of fat. Due to the chemical bonds between their carbon atoms, these fats resemble saturated types such as the ones in butter. But unlike saturated fats, these naturally occurring trans fats are not bad for the heart. In fact, they’ve shown a host of health benefits. Among them: fighting cancer.
Scientists Say: Saturated fat
Michael Pariza and his team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison were the first to show this. And in 1984, they were as surprised as anyone when they turned up a cancer-fighting substance in cooked ground beef. It would take another three years before they would identify the active ingredient as a fat: CLA, short for conjugated linoleic acid.
When given in doses equal to what could be found in eight burgers, this fat prevented skin and stomach cancers...
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