Three servings per day of whole fat dairy products consumption linked to lower rates of heart disease and death
If you are health conscious and swear by skimmed milk, here’s a shocker.
Contrary to popular belief, consumption of around three servings a day of whole fat diary is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality. A global observational study of over 130,000 people in 21 countries, published in The Lancet came to these conclusions. One standard serving of dairy was equivalent to a glass of milk at 244g, a cup of yoghurt at 244g, one slice of cheese at 15g, or a teaspoon of butter at 5g.
The findings are in contrast to current dietary guidelines which recommend consuming 2-4 servings of fat-free or low-fat dairy per day, and minimising consumption of whole-fat dairy products for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Ischaemic heart disease is the number one cause of death in India in 2016, according to the first state level disease burden study.
Participants were grouped into four categories: no dairy (28,674 people), less than 1 serving per day (55,651), 1-2 servings per day (24,423), and over 2 servings per day (27,636).
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Ischaemic heart disease is the number one cause of death in India in 2016, according to the first state level disease burden study.
The high intake group (mean intake of 3.2 servings per day) had lower rates of total mortality (3.4% vs 5.6%), non-cardiovascular mortality (2.5% vs 4%), cardiovascular mortality (0.9% vs 1.6%), major cardiovascular disease (3.5% vs 4.9%), and stroke (1.2% vs 2.9%), when compared to no intake group.
Higher intake of milk and yoghurt (above 1 serving per day) was associated with lower rates of heart diseases and total deaths (milk: 6.2% vs 8.7%; yoghurt: 6.5% vs 8.4%), compared to no consumption. The differences in the composite outcome for butter and cheese were not significant as intake was lower than for milk and yoghurt.
“Our findings support that consumption of dairy products might be beneficial for mortality and cardiovascular disease, especially in low-income and middle-income countries where dairy consumption is much lower than in North America or Europe,” said lead author Dr Mahshid Dehghan, McMaster University, Canada.