A recent study from the University of Toronto has offered new evidence supporting the consumption of full-fat dairy, suggesting it can be incorporated into daily diets without adverse effects on weight or cholesterol levels.
The 12-week study found that participants who consumed three daily servings of full-fat dairy did not experience negative impacts on their body weight, body composition, energy metabolism, or blood lipid levels. The findings were published recently in The Journal of Nutrition.
In fact, the research indicated that participants with higher dairy intake showed improvements in blood pressure and increased consumption of essential nutrients such as calcium, protein, and vitamin D.
Traditional dietary guidelines worldwide have often recommended fat-free or low-fat dairy options due to concerns over saturated fats, which have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, Professor Harvey Anderson, from the nutritional sciences field at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, noted that numerous human studies have found no association between full-fat dairy consumption and negative health outcomes.
Some research, including recent work led by the University’s Professor Kozeta Milliku, has even reported positive or protective effects linked to dairy intake.
The recent small study involved 74 overweight or obese adults who were randomly assigned to one of three dietary groups for 12 weeks. These groups included a low-dairy/calorie-restriction diet, an energy-neutral diet with three daily servings of dairy, or an unrestricted diet also with three daily servings of dairy. Participants were advised to follow Canada's food guide and were provided with full-fat dairy products for the duration of the study.
At the conclusion of the 12 weeks, researchers observed no meaningful differences in weight gain, body composition, or cholesterol levels between those who followed a low-dairy diet and those who consumed three daily servings of whole-fat dairy.
Professor Anderson stated, "Those that had three servings of dairy didn’t have adverse levels of blood cholesterol or lipids or evidence of insulin resistance." He further added that these participants also exhibited lower blood pressure.
The researchers believe that the apparent discrepancy between the expected harms from saturated fats in dairy and the neutral or positive effects reported in human studies may be explained by the ‘dairy matrix hypothesis’. This hypothesis suggests that the physical structure of dairy foods influences how their nutrients are digested and how they impact the body.
Professor Anderson explained: "With dairy products, it’s got two proteins—casein and whey—that are bound together with fat and with nutrients mixed in."
He elaborated that this unique and complex physical structure is thought to be responsible for the slow and steady delivery of nutrients from dairy products, which expands their health impacts beyond merely the sum of their isolated nutritional components.
Professor Anderson highlighted that the study's findings hold particular relevance for older individuals. He noted that older adults often have lower overall energy needs and may encounter difficulties in obtaining sufficient protein and other vital nutrients. For many in this demographic, dairy products represent a familiar, energy-dense, and nutrient-rich option that can help meet their nutritional requirements without heightening their risk of diabetes or other chronic diseases.
More broadly, the study underscores the importance of adopting a "whole food lens" in nutritional sciences research and when developing dietary guidelines, rather than focusing solely on individual nutrients.
The research was supported by Dairy Research Cluster 3 under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership AgriScience Program.
