DOCTORS AND HEALTH EXPERTS ARE CHANGING THEIR MINDS ABOUT WHOLE MILK AND CHEESE

For more than 40 years, the general medical advice has been to avoid full-fat milk products because they are high in saturated fat, the unhealthy fat associated with red meat.

Some studies published in the past decade have found evidence to the contrary. Cheese and yogurt made from whole milk, as well as whole milk itself, may be more beneficial than previously thought.

The changing stance on dairy is particularly important for seniors, who are more prone to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes—the very diseases that milk consumption may help. Beyond that, because seniors digest protein more poorly, they are advised to increase their intake of protein. Dairy is packed with protein and calcium, which helps seniors retain healthy muscles and strong bones. And milk products are relatively cheap, widely available, and easy to consume.

Even for people who can’t tolerate dairy, there is now an array of lactose-free products that cause fewer digestive problems.

One study, published in 2016, found that consuming milk and dairy products was associated with a reduced risk of childhood obesity, improved body composition and weight loss in adults, and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke.

“The totality of available scientific evidence supports that intake of milk and dairy products contribute to meet nutrient recommendations, and may protect against the most prevalent chronic diseases, whereas very few adverse effects have been reported,” the study concluded.

Other studies, such as this one from 2018, found that fermented products like yogurt or cheese bring the most health benefits. “There appear to be metabolic benefits, particularly the risk for Type 2 diabetes, that appear to be reduced by consumption of fermented dairy,” explains endocrinologist Dr. Ronald Krauss, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who is an expert on blood lipids.

Even butter and cream in the amounts consumed by most people don’t cause health issues, says Krauss. He does, however, advise his patients with high LDL cholesterol levels, the bad kind of cholesterol that leads to heart disease, to avoid dairy fat. “I do tell people with high LDL to try to lower all types of saturated fat, including dairy,” he says.

There is a debate in the scientific community over dairy fat. Dariush Mozaffarian, a Tufts University professor and cardiologist, says that many nutrition experts still recommend against eating full-fat dairy, as do the official U.S. dietary guidelines.

But he adds that there is less debate among those like himself who research dairy fat. “Many scientists who study dairy fat and dairy foods have come to the realization that dairy fat isn’t harmful and may even be healthy,” says Mozaffarian.

He wrote a paper six years ago that looked at 16 studies around the world that measured the levels of blood biomarkers produced by consuming dairy products. “We found that higher levels of dairy fat biomarkers were significantly associated with lower risk of diabetes—a 20% to 30% lower risk,” he says.

Mozaffarian says that the scientific consensus on milk consumption will shift over the coming years, and he is confident that the dietary guidelines will be changed to reflect the growing body of research that has found dairy fat to be healthy.

During the 1970s, nutrition experts became increasingly concerned that consumption of saturated fat was leading to high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Saturated fat makes up a high share of dairy fat. So, as diet experts targeted saturated fat, it made sense that dairy fat would find itself in the crosshairs.

Now, researchers say that all saturated fat isn’t alike, and there may be factors that make dairy fat less worrisome. For starters, it comes with a milk fat globule membrane that changes how the body responds to saturated fats, says UCSF’s Krauss.

Fermented dairy products carry extra health benefits, research consistently finds. They contain probiotics that help the digestive system work better while boosting your immune system. Having the right bacteria in your digestive system has been theorized to help prevent everything from diabetes to dementia.

Fermentation also produces Vitamin K2, which studies have found both prevents diabetes and helps diabetics manage the disease, according to Mozaffarian.

Consuming dairy fat can raise levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood. But even here, there is some nuance, experts say. The most harmful type of LDL is the smaller particles; dairy appears to boost the production of the bigger-particle LDL.

“Dairy fat does raise LDL cholesterol,” Mozaffarian says. “It does so mostly by changing the size of the particles. Dairy fat also increases HDL cholesterol and lowers triglycerides.” HDL cholesterol is the so-called good cholesterol that is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, while high triglycerides are linked to a higher risk.

Mozaffarian says a bigger culprit in heart disease is the consumption of refined carbohydrates: “Compared with extra virgin olive oil or avocados or nuts, butter is a worse choice. But compared with the white bread you’re buttering, it’s probably a better choice.”

Write to Neal Templin at [email protected]

2024-09-06T06:13:01Z dg43tfdfdgfd