ABSTRACT
Dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in ruminant foods has potential health benefits. CLA content in dairy and meat products is known. However, CLA intake has not been documented from records of food intake in free-living Canadian subjects. Intake of the cis-9, trans-11-octadecadienoic acid (c9,t11 CLA) isomer was estimated for 22 free-living Canadians by analyzing two seven-day diet records taken six months apart. Intake of c9,t11 CLA did not differ between the two periods during which the food records were collected. Average intake was determined to be 94.9 +/- 40.6 mg/day ranging between 15-174 mg/day. Intake of the c9,t11 isomer of CLA when expressed as mg CLA per unit of energy consumed was significantly correlated to intake of saturated fat (r = 0.62, P < 0.002) and not significantly correlated to intake of total fat (r = 0.39, P < 0.08). Daily c9,t11 CLA intakes varied considerably with approximately 50% of the intakes falling below the 20th percentile for average level of intake per day.