Want Some Full-Fat Dairy? Say Cheese!

After years of eschewing the creamy goodness of full-fat dairy products like yogurt, cheese and creamer to help keep our waistlines trim and heart healthy, new research shows that we may have been unnecessarily going full steam ahead on the wrong track.

A rising tide of research studies are challenging the idea that we need to avoid full-fat varieties.  For instance, a new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving almost 3,000 seniors aged 65 and older found that whole-fat dairy consumption appears to do very little in contributing to cardiovascular disease.

Scientists have come to this conclusion by measuring blood levels of three fatty acids found in dairy products (including trans-palmitoleic acids related to heart disease) at the beginning of the study period in 1992 and again in 1998 and 2005.  Not only were none of the fats sourced from dairy significantly associated with death, one type (heptadecanoic fatty acid), was even linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease mortality.

In fact, there are no guidelines out there stating we should have absolutely zero saturated fat in our diets.  This means that we may not need to settle for the less flavor, less satisfying, less fat varieties we’ve been telling ourselves are “just fine,” for so long.  And since so many “non-fat” varieties dump in extra sugar to help with flavor, you may actually be doing yourself a favor.  That is, as long as we practice portion control, i.e. don’t eat the whole wheel of Brie.  Just cap it at a certain level: the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest saturated fats should account for less than 10% of total daily calories.

—
Photo Credit: margouillat photo / Shutterstock.com