Is low-fat milk really better for you?

A new study from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia found no health advantage to consuming low-fat dairy products as opposed to full-fat versions.
 
The research, which is published in Issue 8, Volume 1 of Nutrients Journal, further found that full-fat dairy may be just as beneficial for cardiovascular health as low-fat products.
 
Researcher Dr Therese O’Sullivan of Edith Cowan University’s School of Medical and Health Science said the eating habits of 860 WA teenagers from early to late adolescence were studied in order to come up with the findings.
 
“We have long been recommending people eat low-fat dairy on the assumption that because it has less calories and less saturated fat it is healthier for you, but there was very little out there in terms of good evidence that this is the case,” Dr O’Sullivan said.
 
Dairy cholesterol link
 
“When we examined the cholesterol profile of these teenagers we found that those who ate more low-fat dairy were no better off,” she said.
 
“In fact, we were able to show that for teenage boys, full-fat dairy consumption was associated with a slightly better cholesterol profile than low-fat dairy. Intakes of both low-fat and regular fat dairy products were associated with better blood pressure in boys,” Dr O’Sullivan stated.
 
Self-regulation
 
The researchers also examined the waist to height ratio of the teenagers in the study to evaluate obesity and found no link between the type of dairy eaten and obesity.
 
“Given that it has less calories per serve, it was assumed that low-fat dairy would help children and teenagers maintain a healthy weight, but we found that neither low fat nor regular fat products increased risk of obesity” Dr O’Sullivan said.
 
“This could be because children and teenagers are actually quite good at regulating their food intake, so eating full-fat dairy makes them feel more full, potentially reducing their consumption of other foods, but this is something that requires further research,” she said.
 
Dr O’Sullivan is planning to run a dietary trial looking at the health implications of low-fat versus full-fat dairy in children later in 2016.

http://ausfoodnews.com.au/2016/02/08/is-low-fat-milk-really-better-for-you.html

The array of different milks now available is quite startling.
I've always loved the full fat milk, but others both for taste preference or otherwise may prefer (or need) a different type.

Children should be given whole milk and dairy products until they are two years old because they may not get the calories or essential vitamins they need from lower-fat milks.
( Ref: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/milk-dairy-foods.aspx )

It will be interesting to see how Dr Sullivan gets on with the proposed dietary trial later in 2016.

I would suggest that a glass of milk for teenagers is far healthier than a glass of sugary drink ... just a thought !

All the best Jan

When I was a child many moons ago we never had anything but full fat milk even when at school, mother used to put cups out for the milkman to put over the bottles to keep the bluetits from going after the cream.

ISTR our school milk was silver top,pretty dire when it had been left out to go rancid in the sun. But we had Jersey Dairies, the Gold Top was full cream from genuine Jersey cows with all the eye makeup.

There's some evidence that Friesian and later Holstein milk with a different protein - A1 vs. A2 - has significantly more problems that milk from older cow breeds.

I think our school milk was silver top, this picture bought back memories, I got the image from google,  but the girl on the right had her hair similar to how mine was - back then


We did used to look forward to morning break and that bottle of milk ... and yes, occasionally it may have been rather too warm, I think sometimes in the summer months we used to drink it almost near the start of the school day ... perhaps because in those long hot summer days it was the sensible thing to do ...

I can still remember coming home from school we enjoyed a glass of cold milk ... not a glass of juice or fizzy stuff ...

All the best Jan