Those that had three servings of dairy didn’t have adverse levels of blood cholesterol or lipids or evidence of insulin resistance,
said Harvey Anderson, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, regarding a 12-week study that challenged decades of nutritional guidance advising adults to avoid full-fat dairy products.
Seventy-Four Adults Tested on Full-Fat Diets over Twelve Weeks
For decades, health authorities across Canada and other nations urged consumers to select low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and cheese to limit saturated fat intake. Public health messaging warned that saturated fats raise low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol—often termed bad
cholesterol—which builds up in arterial walls and increases cardiovascular risks over time. To test whether full-fat options directly cause these harmful metabolic shifts, researchers examined 74 adults with overweight or obesity.
The investigators divided participants into three distinct dietary groups. The first group followed a calorie-restricted diet with minimal dairy consumption. The second group consumed three daily servings of full-fat dairy while maintaining an energy-neutral intake designed to match daily calorie expenditure. The third group ate three servings of full-fat dairy each day without specific restrictions on total calories. All participants received guidance derived from Canada’s food guide, while researchers supplied the full-fat dairy products used throughout the trial.
Metabolic Measures and Blood Pressure Results in Journal of Nutrition
At the end of the 12-week period, published findings in The Journal of Nutrition demonstrated that adults eating three servings of full-fat dairy daily experienced no meaningful increases in body weight, changes in body composition, shifts in energy metabolism, or adverse blood cholesterol levels compared to participants eating little dairy. The data also indicated that individuals with a higher dairy intake saw blood pressure benefits and increased levels of various vital nutrients.
Anderson, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, pointed out that a significant number of human clinical trials have failed to establish a definitive connection between eating full-fat dairy and negative health impacts. Additional research noted includes work led by Temerty Medicine professor Kozeta Milliku, which identified an association between whole-fat milk consumption and a reduced risk of childhood obesity.
Scientific Reviews Show Little Cardiovascular Risk from Dairy
Broader scientific literature aligns with these controlled trial results. A comprehensive review in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology examined various studies and concluded that eating dairy—even full-fat versions—did not show a substantial link to a higher probability of developing cardiovascular disease.
Regarding butter specifically, a meta-analysis published in PLOS ONE involving data from over 600,000 individuals described the association between butter consumption and cardiovascular disease as relatively small,
noting that the relationship lacked statistical significance in several analytical models.
Practical Guidance for Nutritional Intake
While the findings suggest that blanket prohibitions against full-fat dairy are overly simplistic, researchers emphasize that saturated fat is not entirely harmless. The work was funded by Dairy Research Cluster 3 under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership AgriScience Program, alongside the Mitacs Accelerate program.
For individuals attempting to follow shifting dietary recommendations, Anderson advocates for moderation rather than rigid nutritional restrictions, advising people to Keep it simple, eat a variety of foods and not too much of anything.