Full Fat Dairy or Low Fat? The Great Debate. Who is Right?

By: Jillian Foley, RD, LDN Nutritionista

For years in my practice I've seen how polar the opinions of what types of milk, cheese and yogurt are healthy for us. I believe it comes down to "who can we trust". Our doctor tells us it should be low fat BUT he also likes putting us on medicine so is this part of that agenda? The doctor we follow on social media tells us it should be whole milk and we shouldn't believe what our doctors tell us becasue they are influenced by the pharmacuetical industry BUT they are also selling supplements and books which looks like they have an agenda too? If everyone is looking to make money off of us, who can we trust? Me! Let me break down the answer for you in a non-biased way.

The first reason I see, that people try to avoid low or non-fat dairy is because of the theory that if it is low fat, it will have other added ingredients. While this is true for products like salad dressing, it isn't for milk. Fat carries flavor so if you have a low fat dressing, there typically is some added extra sugar or thickener to make the taste and texture desirable. Milk on the other hand is just milk. The only difference between high and low fat is that the fat content has been lessened. This goes with low fat cheeses too. Yogurts can vary depending on the brand and the image they want. Most low/non fat yogurts will have a thickening agent like cellulose (derived from green plants and algae) to keep it from being watery, but whether or not it has more sugar added than it's full fat rival is dictated on the desired taste of the manufacturer.

The second reason people believe full fat milk is more beneficial is beacuse of the vitamin D. All cows milk has vitamin D, but somewhere along the way I've found that people refer to whole milk as vitamin D milk. In fact, milk doesn't naturally have vitamin D in it, and so all milk, whole and non fat, is fortified with it to make it healthier.

The last reason I see that people belive they should consume higher fat dairy is because contrary to what our doctors tell us, we need to consume more fat for brain health and because cholesterol levels should never go to low. While it is true that we absolutely need fat in our diets, it's not saturated fat that we need. We are animals and we already make saturated fat. Having too much saturated fat is bad for our arteries and heart. What we don't make is unsaturated fats. This is what should be added into our diets to help the brain and cholesterol. Including fatty fish like salmon and tuna, nuts like walnuts and almonds, oils like avocado oil and olive oil are the fats we should be focusing on in our diets.

I hope that this gives you a clear understanding of which dairy products you should include in your rotation so you can trust that you are making a heathy decision without being conned. Without shooting for perfection, you will now know which dairy products you should choose most of the time.

Jillian Foley, RD Nutrititionista is a Registered Dietitian that specializes in Food Therapy. She believes that weight-loss & disease prevention/management is 20% food education & 80% psychological. She owns her own practice for 1-on-1 sessions as well as courses. You can find more info @www.Nutritionista267.com Follower her on IG @Nutritionista_1