Dairy not the cause of heart deaths

Full-fat dairy not responsible for heart attack deaths

A new Australian study has found that eating full-fat dairy may reduce the risk of cardiovascular-related death.

Dr Jolieke van der Pols from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) said this is a surprising but not unfounded result.

“There are other studies that suggest that certain fats in dairy may be protective for cardiovascular disease (CVD),” said Dr van der Pols from QIMR’s Cancer and Population Studies Group.

“We found that people with the highest intake of full-fat dairy had 70% less chance of death by heart disease or stroke than those who had the lowest intake of full-fat dairy.”

“It is possible that milk fat may contain nutrients that counteract the expected negative effects of the saturated fat in dairy products.”

Scientists surveyed more than 1,500 Australians about their dairy intake over 16 years and found total intake of dairy products was not associated with cardiovascular death.

The study also found that total dairy intake had no correlation to death due to cancer or overall risk of death.

The paper will be published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition and is available online. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.45)