For years, consumers have heard the same message: Stay away from whole milk dairy foods to protect your heart. That advice came from the idea that saturated fat — like the kind in dairy foods — raises “bad” cholesterol and leads to cardiovascular disease.
But lately, a growing body of science is telling a different story. And the farmer-founded National Dairy Council (NDC) has been helping lead the charge in sharing evidence to set the record straight.
Research continues to suggest that dairy foods such as milk, cheese, and yogurt at a variety of fat levels aren’t linked to a higher risk of heart disease. In fact, several studies have suggested that consuming dairy foods across a spectrum of fat levels is associated with benefiting heart health.
One landmark study published in 2023 looked at data from more than 245,000 adults from over 80 countries. It found an overall healthy diet that included 14 servings of dairy per week — mainly from whole milk sources — was linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, and mortality.
Those findings have been supported by other recent research, too. Another 2023 study found that consuming more than two daily servings of dairy foods at a variety of fat levels was linked to a 26% lower risk of death from heart disease. And that same year, researchers found that a daily serving of cheese also was linked to a lower risk of mortality and heart disease.
So why the shift? It turns out milkfat is more complicated than we thought. It contains 400-plus different fatty acids, and scientists are learning these fats don’t all act the same way in the body. Dairy fat, when eaten as part of whole foods like milk, cheese, or yogurt, might have health benefits that we’re only starting to understand.
On top of that, dairy foods provide several other nutrients the body needs, such as calcium and potassium, and beneficial live microbes found in fermented dairy foods like yogurt, kefir, and natural cheeses. These nutrients and bioactive components may help reduce inflammation, maintain cholesterol levels, and even reduce blood pressure.
All of this means there’s growing proof that the dairy foods farmers work hard to produce every day, from whole milk to fat-free, can be part of a heart-healthy diet.
NDC will continue to lead innovative research uncovering the link between nutrient-dense dairy foods at a variety of fat levels and their unique bioactive components and heart health, and help share the science with today’s health and wellness leaders and clinicians to highlight dairy foods for what they are: part of the solution to good health.
To learn more about your national dairy checkoff, visit DairyCheckoff.com or to reach us directly, send an email.
