A New Old Superfood

Who knew?

The dilemma of bone vs heart health, we have both

My mother-in-law battles to carry anything because she is fine-boned and her bones are now brittle as she manages osteoporosis.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s and even into the 1980s, the war on the dangers of dairy raged on in nutrition circles.

Heart disease and cholesterol levels were firmly associated with dairy products and red meat. Ladies of the time wanted to be thin, and dairy was the stuff they cut out of their diet to reach their weight goals.

The mindset was not like it is today, about health, then it was all about weight. At the same time, the mini-skirt was being popularized, and of course, the bikini.

The problem with this approach was that there was a definite lack of bone-strengthening calcium and vitamin K in most of these slimming diets.

This type of nutrition exacerbated the osteoporosis problem. Hence the proliferation of calcium supplements.

I recall bumper stickers on cars, remember those? Stating ‘You can never be too thin or too rich.’

And then, the scourge of anorexia showed its nasty head, and the narrative in the background continued. Avoid red meat and dairy, if you want heart health and longevity.

New Perspectives on Dairy

Today we live in the information age and our challenge is not so much to look for information like in the old days. We have information in abundance. Our challenge now is to discern and validate the real information from the misinformation.

Scientific studies on dairy have shown that consuming dairy products reduces risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. The kicker is that the studies found that this was true regardless of fat content.

Dairy products also do not appear to contribute to weight gain.

In 2018, a Lancet study found that people who ate two servings of dairy per day (milk, yoghurt, and cheese) were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease by up to 23%, and also 34% less likely to die from stroke. They also were 17% less likely to die from any cause.

Milk fats magic

A large-scale study also found that a ‘higher milk fats diet’ had close to 30% reduction in type 2 diabetes.

Milk fats and dairy fats contain many nutrients like amino acids and medium-chain and odd-chain saturated fats.

Dairy fats also contain exceptional nutritional compounds such as phospholipids, vitamin K1 and vitamin K2, and calcium, too. If the dairy you are consuming has cultures and probiotics, then there is that further nutritional benefit of dairy.

Raw Dairy

Growing up, we were always told to avoid raw dairy like raw milk, and we all looked for pasteurized milk. Pasteurization is a process made famous by Louis Pasteur, a brilliant scientist. This made milk safe to drink, we were told.

However, there are many benefits to consuming raw dairy because while the pasteurization process gets rid of the ‘baddies’ it also eliminates the ‘goodies’.

There is now a trend towards raw dairy products because raw dairy is so nutrient-rich.

The work of Dr Ted Beals, who is a raw milk advocate, shows that raw milk is far less likely to cause health problems than 35,000 other foods, including pasteurized milk.

Apparently, from what I have read, Dr Ted Beal used government data over 11 years to prove his point on raw milk. He discovered that the health risks versus other foods were minimal.

You choose

Like all things nutrition, always consult your doctor, dietician, or nutritionist when considering making dietary changes, as we are all unique, and I am not a nutritionist or dietician. I have many years of experience in product development for multinational food companies and share what I find interesting from my formal employment research.

Recap

Dairy has essential amino acids, phospholipids, and healthy fats, amongst other nutrients crucial for good health.

The days of demonizing dairy are long gone. We know too much now from the information age in which we live and as we follow the true science; we come to learn more about our food and health.

Don’t dismiss raw dairy, do your research, and speak to your dietician or health professional. Perhaps the good outweighs the bad?

The uncovering of the health benefits of dairy is now coming to the fore. Do not dismiss this vital food group.