Adults can eat three servings of full-fat dairy each day without negatively impacting their body weight, body fat, or blood cholesterol, a new industry-back study has found.
Researchers at Toronto University said in a 12-week study of 74 adults, they found no meaningful differences in weight gain, body composition or cholesterol between those eating three servings of dairy a day and those who cut back.
Dairy products contain saturated fats which contribute to high cholesterol and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Global dietary guidelines therefore often recommend low-fat dairy foods to reduce saturated fat intake.
Lead researcher, professor Harvey Anderson, said despite these concerns, several studies have found no association between full-fat dairy consumption and damaging health outcomes.
Is full fat dairy healthy?
This study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, was funded by ‘Dairy Research Cluster 3’, a joint government and industry initiative investing in scientific research.
The study found those eating more dairy recorded lower blood pressure and consumed more calcium, protein and vitamin D - nutrients that support functions such as bone maintenance, muscle health and immune activity.
Anderson suggested the disagreement over the risk of saturated fats in dairy could be explained by the dairy matrix hypothesis. This argues the physical structure of dairy affects how the nutrients within it are digested and therefore affect the body.
Dairy’s two proteins
“With dairy products, it’s got two proteins – casein and whey – that are bound together with fat and with nutrients mixed in,” Anderson said.
This complex structure is responsible for the slow and steady delivery of nutrients from dairy, and expands their health impacts to more than just the sum of the isolated nutrients, he explained.
The study might therefore be an example of the importance of approaching nutritional research through a whole food lens instead of focusing on single nutrients, he added.
