Listen Here:
Click or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” on your podcast platform of choice.
Or listen directly on the Sigma website here.
Introduction
Substantial evidence shows that a high intake of saturated fat in the diet has the potential to significantly raise LDL-C and ApoB-containing lipoproteins in many people, and in turn increase their risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
However, people may raise what seems to be some contradictory evidence, or what is sometimes thought of as a paradox: the impact of full-fat dairy on CVD risk.
This paradox arises because given the saturated fat content of full-fat milk, yogurt and cheese, we typically don’t see the same impact on blood lipid profiles. In addition, epidemiology can often show such foods in a favourable light. And the dairy fat story gets more interesting when we look at evidence showing there is a huge difference in the impact of consuming different dairy foods (e.g. butter vs cheese/yogurt).
So this leads to many questions that people rightly ask, which we aim to address in this episode. Questions such as:
- Why doesn’t increased dairy consumption lead to same increases in CVD risk as other saturated fat sources?
- Do results from full-fat dairy studies prove that saturated fat isn’t a problem?
- What is it about cheese/yogurt that makes it different to butter?
- How do low-fat and full-fat dairy compare?
- Diets including/excluding dairy: how to compare?
Related resources
- Join the Sigma newsletter for free
- Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium
- Become a member of Alan Flanagan’s Alinea Nutrition Education Hub
- References:
- Dehghan et al., 2018 – Association of dairy intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 21 countries from five continents (PURE)
- Jakobsen et al., 2021 – Intake of dairy products and associations with major atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies
- de Oliveira Otto et al., 2012 – Dietary intake of saturated fat by food source and incident cardiovascular disease: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
- Khaw et al., 2012 – Plasma phospholipid fatty acid concentration and incident coronary heart disease in men and women: the EPIC-Norfolk prospective study
- Schmidt et al., 2021 – The impact of diets rich in low-fat or full-fat dairy on glucose tolerance and its determinants: a randomized controlled trial
- Jacobsen et al., 2005 – Effect of short-term high dietary calcium intake on 24-h energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and fecal fat excretion
- Further reading:
- Related podcast episodes:
- Why doesn’t increased dairy consumption lead to same increases in CVD risk as other saturated fat sources?
- Do results from full-fat dairy studies prove that saturated fat isn’t a problem?
- What is it about cheese/yogurt that makes it different to butter?
- How do low-fat and full-fat dairy compare?
- Diets including/excluding dairy: how to compare?
The Hosts
Click through to your app of choice to listen and subscribe:
Dr. Alan Flanagan has a PhD in nutrition from the University of Surrey, where his doctoral research focused on circadian rhythms, feeding, and chrononutrition.
This work was based on human intervention trials. He also has a Masters in Nutritional Medicine from the same institution.
Dr. Flanagan is a regular co-host of Sigma Nutrition Radio. He also produces written content for Sigma Nutrition, as part of his role as Research Communication Officer.
Danny Lennon has a master’s degree (MSc.) in Nutritional Sciences from University College Cork, and he is the founder of Sigma Nutrition.
Danny is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Sports Nutrition Association, the global regulatory body responsible for the standardisation of best practice in the sports nutrition profession.
Introduction to this Episode
Substantial evidence shows that a high intake of saturated fat in the diet has the potential to significantly raise LDL-C and ApoB-containing lipoproteins in many people, and in turn increase their risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
However, people may raise what seems to be some contradictory evidence, or what is sometimes thought of as a paradox: the impact of full-fat dairy on CVD risk.
This paradox arises because given the saturated fat content of full-fat milk, yogurt and cheese, we typically donʼt see the same impact on blood lipid profiles. In addition, epidemiology can o en show such foods in a favorable light.
And the dairy fat story gets more interesting when we look at evidence showing there is a huge difference in the impact of consuming different dairy foods (e.g. butter vs cheese/yogurt).
So this leads to many questions that people rightly ask, which we aim to address in this episode. Questions such as:
- Why doesnʼt increased dairy consumption lead to the same increases in CVD risk as other saturated fat sources?
- Do results from full-fat dairy studies prove that saturated fat isnʼt a problem?
- What is it about cheese/yogurt that makes it different to butter?
- How do low-fat and full-fat dairy compare?
- Diets including/excluding dairy: how to compare?