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It was the 1980s. Fitness icons such as Richard Simmons, Jane Fonda and Arnold Schwarzenegger have captivated audiences at home and at cinemas. The USDA has released the country’s first set of nutrition guidelines. For the years that followed, the food pyramids decorated countless classrooms, and the American war with saturated fats was on us.
According to some nutrition experts, one food became an outstanding victim: whole milk.
Whole milk contains more saturated fats and calories compared to low-fat or skim milk. Saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, and general guidance suggests that saturated fat intake should be limited in favor of unsaturated fat wherever possible.
However, recent studies have shown that whole milk and other dairy products may not be associated with such negative health outcomes.
The findings have infuriated discussions in the scientific community. Some experts argue that it guarantees changes in dietary guidelines, while others argue that science is not conclusive.
“Understanding how certain foods affect health is complicated,” says Dr. Gabby Headlick, associate director of food and nutrition policy at the George Washington University Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security.
Whole milk “war”
The health team of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, wants to get whole milk back.
On September 9th, his Make America Healthy Commission presented an action plan to combat chronic pediatric illness in the United States, including changes to the “broken food pyramid.” According to Food and Drug Director Dr. Martin Makary, Ph.D.
He called it “one of the greatest misinformation sources in modern American history.”
“We’re finishing a 50-year war with natural, saturated fat,” McCurry said during a press conference. “Amazingly, a regulated school should have a certain amount of whole milk. That’s scientifically meaningless. It was government nutritional guidance based on dogma rather than evidence.”
Recent evidence indicates that dairy fats may not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke. A March study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating milk, yogurt and cheese, regardless of fat content, is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease.
According to recommendations from the MAHA Committee Report, the health agency said it would remove restrictions on whole milk sales at schools, allowing districts to offer full-fat dairy options along with fat-reducing alternatives, and eliminate the essential fat requirements of the federal nutrition program.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and food director, is the medical research institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and agrees to the committee’s plans.
He said that by removing the full-fat option from the school menu, children have replaced whole milk with sweeter options like chocolate and strawberry milk, making up for the lack of fat loss and the lack of flavor in the skim milk options.
“Dairy fat remains imprisoned where it doesn’t belong,” Mozafarian said. “It’s obviously time to remove the limits of dairy fat…it’s been a long time late.”
“Science is still unstable.”
Some experts want to modify dietary guidelines, while others say more research is needed.
Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard Chang Chang School, who co-authored the study in March, said adding whole milk to the school could be overtaken. He argues that standard American diets are already made up of too much saturated fat through fast food, meat and other sauces, and reintroducing whole milk may make things worse.
While US dietary guidelines recommend that individuals limit their saturated fat intake to less than 10% of their daily calories, USDA researchers estimate that in 2022, only about a third of more than 20 adults met these guidelines.
However, adults who met these criteria drew a complex picture of how much carbohydrates consumed, significantly fewer protein and total fat, and how to replace those calories, whether it was considered “healthy” than saturated fats.
“Dairy products are very complicated,” Sun said. “Unless there is overwhelming evidence, I’ll choose an option to maintain the current recommendations.”
Headrick, a graduate of George Washington University, agrees.
“Recent research suggests that saturated fats from dairy products may not have the same harmful effects as saturated fats from other foods…science is still unstable,” she said.
Adrianna Rodriguez can be accessed at arodriguez@usatoday.com.
