The Dairy Council clears up dairy misconceptions

Milk and dairy foods may play a neutral or protective role in long term heart health, says The Dairy Council.

The nutritional value of milk and dairy foods continues to be misunderstood and are often targeted in saturated fat reduction campaigns; however, multiple recent studies have shown that milk and dairy foods have neutral, and in some cases protective, associations with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Anne Mullen, director of nutrition at The Dairy Council told delegates at a recent meeting that the nutrient array and matrix of dairy is key to understanding dairy’s relationship with certain long term health conditions.

“It is often thought that milk and dairy can play a part in developing health problems such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes due to its saturated fat content, but recent studies have shown that isn’t the case,” she says.

“Saturated fat is actually an umbrella term to describe a family of individual saturated fatty acids and research has shown that these saturated fats behave differently in the body. When we appreciate their true complexity, a different picture emerges with regards to dairy. There are two saturated fatty acids found in dairy foods that are believed to be inversely associated with risk in developing type 2 diabetes, in addition to nutrients such as calcium and bioactive peptides which may also play a positive role in heart health. There is also recent research coming out that shows yogurt may actually have a protective effect in the development of type 2 diabetes.

“The reality is that the sheer complexity of saturated fat means that it is often misunderstood when assessing its impact on long term health and current public health guidelines, which look at single nutrients as opposed to whole foods, have overlooked this.

“As the research field develops, it is important we communicate our knowledge with the public and health professionals. The continued misunderstanding of saturated fat sends a negative, and nutritionally incorrect, message about dairy and it’s about time we debunked those myths.”

 Lydia Cooper, nutrition scientist at The Dairy Council, adds, “Milk contains many of the nutrients needed for the body to adequately recover post-exercise. Studies have shown that milk may be more effective than sports drinks when it comes to rehydration. Milk has also been shown to help reduce muscle soreness following bouts of strenuous exercise.”