Are Full Fat Dairy Products Really Unhealthy?
In 1976 the fear of fat in
our diets began. During the 1960’s and 1970’s men were dying from heart attacks
and 8 US senators died from heart disease. Scientists
had evidence that foods with saturated fat such as eggs and red meat could
raise LDL cholesterol although there were a lot of complex issues that
scientists didn't understand, and very little data. Senator McGovern, a Democrat from South
Dakota, called a hearing to discuss the links between diet and disease and
summoned Nathan Pritikin, a longevity specialist who believed you could reverse
heart disease with diet changes and a Harvard University professor who pointed
to the harms of eating too much fat. These hearings led to the first set of
dietary guidelines for Americans which focused on reducing the amount of fat in
the diet. The thought was to replace full-fat milk, cheese, and fatty meat with
carbohydrates such as fruits, whole grains, and vegetables but what people
heard was fat was bad and any carbs were good. The food industry took this as
an opportunity to produce all kinds of fat free products from fat free yogurt,
cookies, and muffins in which the fat was replaced with sugar. I remember my
mom switching from whole milk to skim milk, told me nuts and avocados were bad,
but pretzels were good, and we hardly ate red meat. My mother did always
continue to use olive oil in cooking and on salads which we now know was a
healthy practice. This was also the time when people began to gain more weight
and more people developed type 2 diabetes.
Our bodies need fat to be
healthy. It’s a significant source of energy, helps us absorb certain vitamins
and minerals like vitamins A, E, D and K which are essential to building cell
membranes, blood clotting and muscle movement. We know that we need to avoid
all trans fats (officially band in the US) and we have been told to limit
saturated fat from red meat, butter, whole fat dairy, and coconut oil to no
more than 10% of our diet although there has been some recent conflicting research
regarding its link to heart disease. We should be including omega three fatty
acids from fish like salmon, unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and
monounsaturated) from avocados, nuts, and olive oil.
So, what’s the verdict on full
fat dairy? When you go to the grocery store you will see varying amounts of fat
in dairy products; non-fat, low-fat, and whole. The US dietary guidelines, the
American Heart Association, and the World Health Organization always tell us to
choose the non-fat or low-fat option since full fat dairy contains too much
saturated fat. This guidance comes from the 19080’s and most studies haven’t
found a health benefit for eating low-fat over whole. So, what does the research
show? Researchers have found benefits from eating dairy on high blood pressure,
cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes regardless of whether people chose
low-fat or full-fat dairy options. Those who consume full fat dairy are also
not more likely to gain weight. One study showed that those who had higher
levels of dairy fats in their blood were 29% less likely than those with lower
levels to develop type 2 diabetes. Some short-term studies have also shown that
consuming dairy products, including full fat dairy, lowered blood pressure of
the participants and did not cause weight gain or increase LDL levels which is
the bad cholesterol.
There are several reasons why dairy
fats may be good for you. Dairy products seem to contain a type of saturated
fat that appears to be neutral and/or beneficial to health. Milk products are
also packaged in a structure called the milk fat globule membrane which may
help bind cholesterol in the digestive tract and possibly improve blood
cholesterol levels.
So, what should you do? It’s best
to try and eat three servings of dairy per day to maintain a balanced diet unless
you have been instructed otherwise. Based on this most recent research it may
be okay to make two of those serving full fat especially from unsweetened
yogurt and hard cheese which often contain beneficial probiotics, but always
check with your medical provider first. If you have high cholesterol, you
should limit heavy cream and butter as they have been shown to raise
cholesterol levels. We at gut instinct can help you navigate which are the best
dairy products to incorporate into your diet based on evidence for improving
your gut and overall health.
