Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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MarcR
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Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

Post by MarcR »

This exceptionally high-powered study - almost 150,000 participants - shows a solid association between high fat dairy consumption and metabolic health. There are two major elements to the study:
  • Cross-sectional. 113,000 people answered a food questionnaire and were evaluated for prevalence of the five metabolic syndrome components. Those who reported consuming two or more daily servings of whole fat dairy were 28% less likely to have metabolic syndrome (positive for at least three of the five components) than those who consumed only low fat or no dairy.
  • Prospective. 58,000 people without hypertension (high blood pressure) and 131,000 people without diabetes were followed for nine years. Those who reported two or more dairy servings per day were 11% less likely to develop hypertension and 12% less likely to become diabetic than those who reported no dairy consumption.
Association of dairy consumption with metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes in 147 812 individuals from 21 countries
Conclusions Higher intake of whole fat (but not low fat) dairy was associated with a lower prevalence of MetS and most of its component factors, and with a lower incidence of hypertension and diabetes. Our findings should be evaluated in large randomized trials of the effects of whole fat dairy on the risks of MetS, hypertension, and diabetes.
Of course, whole fat dairy is loaded with saturated fat, which the authorities tell us we must limit to protect our hearts and brains. I think the emperor is naked! Metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and diabetes are direct precursors to heart attacks, strokes, dementia, cancer, and all the other chronic diseases that beset us. Their absence is a concrete sign of health. If saturated fat were really a dietary bogeyman, consuming more of it would not have such a strong association with better metabolic health, right?

I also see support here for the "just eat real food" philosophy. Whole fat dairy is a classic example of real food, and it provides calories that reduce our temptation to consume highly processed foods containing industrial seed oils and other toxic ingredients.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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MarcR wrote:This exceptionally high-powered study - almost 150,000 participants - shows a solid association between high fat dairy consumption and metabolic health...
Hi Marc, Thanks for posting this. Just now I happened to look up foods high in MCTs other than coconut products, which I invariably react to. The only other things mentioned in an all too brief and superficial Google search were olive oil and whole dairy (moreso goat than cow). I'm guessing you and maybe many others are aware of this, but it was new to me. Might be something to a slow and steady infusion of MCTs in whole fat dairy?
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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circular wrote:Might be something to a slow and steady infusion of MCTs in whole fat dairy?
I'm aware that MCTs are valued by some as a source of cellular energy for insulin-resistant neurons - are they also linked to this study's endpoints (MetS, hypertension, and diabetes)? If so, and if MCTs in cow milk are significant, then perhaps MCTs are involved with the mechanism by which dairy consumption may improve metabolic health.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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Thank goodness I don't have metabolic syndrome, hypertension, or diabetes because I react strongly to dairy. I guess it's my ε4 pro-inflammatory state. I had no idea I reacted so strongly, I've always felt fine when consuming dairy, but numbers don't lie and my numbers reacted dramatically.

One of the regular tests I get through my doctor is the PULS cardiac test. I've always scored not just in the normal range, but BELOW the expected score for my age and sex. Then we started eating about a half cup of homemade yogurt made with A2 (the “good” casein) milk in an effort to ingest a special probiotic. That was the ONLY dairy I ate. One of the contributory makers that goes into the PULS score is the inflammatory marker of IL-16. My IL-16 measured at 46 before the yogurt (46 is already "red" considered elevated on the test). It went to 533, yes, more than 10 times higher, not a typo, when consuming the yogurt! My overall PULS score fell into the "yellow" borderline risk range for the first time ever and yogurt was the only diet change. I stopped the yogurt, my IL-16 went down to 42.9 on my last test and my overall PULS score fell back to normal, and below the expected score for my age and sex.

So no dairy for me!
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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Like Theresa, my IL-16 reacted to the A2 yogurt (which was made with 1% A2 milk as we both react to sat fat). In my case, my Il-16 doubled and returned to the prior level when I quit the yogurt.. My sdLDL-c and oxLDL test results react strongly to sat fat, even from the minor amount in EVOO. I was having a food sensitivity reaction to EVOO so I mostly use algae oil now and get very low sdLDL and oxLDL results.

As to the study Marc links, I can see that whole fat milk is likely better than other food that would likely contribute to hyperinsulinemia - which can strongly contribute to negative metabolic health. For me, a way to minimize hyperinsulinemia is to just fast.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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Tincup wrote:My sdLDL-c and oxLDL test results react strongly to sat fat, even from the minor amount in EVOO. I was having a food sensitivity reaction to EVOO so I mostly use algae oil now and get very low sdLDL and oxLDL results.
How did you know you were having the EVOO food sensitivity reaction?

And what algae oil do you use? (I'm on the hunt right now.)
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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SusanJ wrote: How did you know you were having the EVOO food sensitivity reaction?

And what algae oil do you use? (I'm on the hunt right now.)
I have a life-long autoimmune history. Primarily nasal congestion, but also could develop some wheezing and throat tightness. In addition could have itching roof of mouth, cold sores and itchy rectum (I assume the whole digestive tract was unhappy from mouth to the other end, I just didn't feel it. I used to also be very sensitive to airborne allergens.

When I switched to eating on Gundry's plan, the congestion improved by about 80% and the mouth and rectum itch went away. More recently I was trying to improve more and decided to try Arthur Coca's pulse test (book published in 1956). In simple terms, you test your heart rate for a 1 minute average (I've found this better than instantaneous as given by some apps) before you eat and then 30 & 60 or more minutes after. If you see more than a 6 BPM increase, Coca's hypothesis is that you are sensitive to the food. Of course you start out eating a mixed meal & if that spikes, you need to go to individual foods to figure it out. I noticed that some of my foods spiked 15-25 BPM, not subtle. When I removed the most offending foods (which are different for each person), my congestion improved to the best it has ever been. I also have an Oura tracking ring. Pre testing, my deep sleep was 0-3 minutes a night. Overnight pulse average - 63 BPM. After eliminating some of the foods with the highest pulse elevation, my deep sleep went to 30-90 minutes and pulse overnight dropped to 45 BPM (no change in exercise). This is a (long..........) ongoing project.

I use Thrive Algae Oil that I find at Sprouts.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

Post by circular »

What an interesting thread. I have been drinking 2 oz goat milk keifer for some time now, always a bit ambivalent because of my hx with dairy and sometimes noting a real time, albeit very slight, reaction. Of course slight reactions that are noticed might be much bigger ones under the hood. Maybe I need to find a way to test my IL-16 on and off of it ... and the thin slice of butter I've started adding to my coffee again.

Or, first it would be easy to try Tincups pulse test. I've been curious about foods affecting sleep. Recently I signed up for Fitbit's premium plan to get my sleep HR data (and because they're giving three months free, or at least were). I can get 1.5-2 hrs deep sleep most nights, even though I have yet to show one night with the desired "hammock" HR pattern, and many nights my HR spends a lot of time above my resting HR while sleeping. Its pattern is literally different from night to night.

So the pulse test, the elimination, then watch nighttime heart rate too and see what happens.

Meanwhile, the 2013 paper comparing fatty acids in milks reports:
The studies conducted since 2000 have contradicted the thesis that the consumption of milk and dairy products would increase the synthesis of LDL and the risk of coronary disease (24). At present, it is believed that the increased LDL blood concentration is attributable to lauric C12:0, myristic C14:0, and palmitic C16:0 acids, while the other saturated fatty acids found in milk neutralise their effect since they increase HDL level (24).
(Fatty acid profile of milk - A review)

Another angle could possibly be an effect on the microbiome. A 2019 paper about lauric acid and the microbiome states:
For human gut microbes, LA was shown to have low antimicrobial activity against commensal lactic acid bacteria, but high antimicrobial activity against pathogenic Bacteroides and Clostridium, suggesting that LA might modulate intestinal health, as confirmed by the proposed method.
(Measuring the Antimicrobial Activity of Lauric Acid Against Various Bacteria in Human Gut Microbiota Using a New Method)

There are other papers about lauric acid and the microbiome.

Most likely there are synergistic effects from eating dairy as a whole food. It's also interesting to note that many (most?) branches of evolutionary humans wouldn't have had access to coconut sources of MCTs and may have relied much more on dairy for them. That said, I thought early human groups (pre-agriculture) didn't eat dairy except for some exceptions???
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

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The PURE study is interesting. But I wouldn't make any dietary changes based on it, especially without a solid understanding of the metabolic mechanism of action that would explain why saturated fats are superior, particularly to MUFAs and PUFAs.

Until then, it's just an interesting association from a bunch of dietary questionnaires that has not been fully explained through RCTs or otherwise.
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Re: Large new study: whole fat dairy linked to lower metabolic disease risk

Post by SusanJ »

Tincup wrote:Arthur Coca's pulse test
Thanks, I know you mentioned that before so now I'll go take a look.
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