Low Fat Dairy Actually Isn't Better For You, A Study Shows
Fat is bad: It's a fact that's been drilled into our brains - until recently, that is. Eating plans like the keto diet have educated us all on the whole "good fat" thing, but people still tend to absent-mindedly reach forskim milk, fat-free yogurt, "light" cream cheese, low-fat cheese, and so on. But some genius scientists just published a new study that suggests saturated dairy fat isn't as harmful as we have come to believe.
The new research, conducted by the University of Texas' School of Public Health, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study shows that consuming saturated dairy fat has no significant link to cardiovascular health. The scientists followed 2,907 65-and-older American adults with no cardiovascular issues for a period of 22 years, tracking their saturated fat consumption over time.
The study took blood samples from participants, which were used to measure their fatty acid levels. Those served as an indicator of risk for cardiovascular disease and strokes. By identifying dairy-specific fatty acids, researchers were able to study the relationship between dairy fat consumption and health outcomes. "Overall, our findings do not support harmful associations of dairy fat consumption for incident CVD events later in life," says Marcia Otto, lead author and assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics, and environmental sciences at UT's School of Public Health.
Melissa Majumdar, R.D., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Runner's World that whole-fat dairy has the same vitamins and minerals as low-fat or fat-free versions. "... So it comes down to where you want your calories to come from," she says. "If someone's choosing between whole-fat dairy or a doughnut, well, they should choose the whole-fat dairy. And if someone's choosing between whole-fat dairy and a low-fat or fat-free version that's full of added sugars, they're better off avoiding the processed food."
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines suggest fat-free or low-fat dairy as part of "a healthy eating pattern," but now you can have that glass of whole milk once in a while, knowing it's not going to kill ya!
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