The Dairy Debate

 

 

More and more people believe that plant milks are healthier than dairy milk, question whether dairy products are necessary at all or that perhaps they are even harmful. It is certainly true that dairy products are rich in nutrients such as protein, calcium and potassium. But they also contains a lot of saturated fat, and hormones such as estrogen-like growth factor and prostaglandins. They may also contain trace amounts of antibiotics. So should diary be a part of a healthy diet or not?

The scientific evidence in favor or against dairy is mixed.

Increasingly, studies have found that consuming full fat dairy products does not seem to raise your risk of heart disease or stroke. A 2018 study published in Lancet found that those regularly consuming more than two daily servings of full fat dairy had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those eating only half a serving. "You can't judge a food by its fat content," explained Dariush Mozaffarian, MD and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science at Tufts University. "There are many different saturated fats and each has potentially different health effects."

While dairy is rich in bone-building calcium, large studies have not found that dairy is protective against either osteoporosis or fractures in adults. 

Studies suggest that yogurt may somewhat reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. This may be due to a beneficial effect on the microbiome. Cheese also seems to help, possibly because it is a good source of vitamin K.

Generally there is no strong evidence of a link between consumption of dairy and breast, ovarian or bladder cancer. However there is some backing for a connection between high dairy intake and endometrial and prostate cancers.

A 2020 meta-analysis published in Advances in Nutrition found that the risk of obesity was no higher among those who ate full fat dairy than those who did not.

Most researchers now agree that dairy is not essential for good health. "Drinking cows milk," says Mozaffarian, "doesn't seem to have any major benefits or harms." So here is one case where you can let taste and personal preference be your guide.