Milk fatty acids and potential health benefits: An updated vision

Recent investigations support that milk SFA should no longer be considered as a single group in terms of metabolism or negative effects in case of excess. Even they suggest that individual SFA possess specific properties associated with important physiological functions. Whole dairy products would also promote human health due to the presence of certain bioactive fatty acids. Among them, it is worth mentioning the maintenance of gut microbiota and weight control from short and medium-chain SFA, the essential role of branched-chain SFA in gut health at birth and the prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases by vaccenic and rumenic acids.