Full-fat dairy or low/no fat?

This content has been removed.

I use fat free half and half (regular disappears from the fridge at work, what's up with that?) and full fat or 2% milk. I buy full fat cheese and whatever Greek yogurt is on sale without paying attention to the fat.

I don't have an issue with fitting dairy in my diet calories. I will skip dessert for a good cheddar.

I do a mix.
Low fat cottage cheese, yoghurt and milk.

Full fat butter and cheddar cheese.

It's personal preference.

low or non fat. I have borderline high cholesterol and this helped me bring it down

I would say, whatever fits your needs at this point in time. If you're on the lower range of the calorie spectrum, an 80 cal glass of skim milk is going to give you more mileage than a 150 cal glass of full-fat milk. Personal preference comes into play too - do you prefer eating a small amount of really tasty, high-quality cheese, or do you want your Skinny Taste enchilada recipe to also have a ton of gooey goodness? It might also be different when you're in a weight-loss phase vs. a maintenance phase.

There is some evidence suggesting that nutrients are absorbed more readily in the presence of fat - so if you're worried about consistently absorbing more of that vitamin D and calcium, 2% or full-fat might work best for you. There were also a few studies done a few years ago correlating a smaller waist circumference and metabolic syndrome risk with consuming full-fat dairy, but correlation does not equal causation - I wouldn't base everything on them without a lot more supporting evidence.

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/early/2015/10/28/jn.115.220699

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0157461
The meta-analysis of the five studies on changes in body weight per serving of dairy no significant results could be found for whole fat dairy and low fat dairy. However, there was inverse association between changes in body weight for each serving’s increase of yogurt (beta: -40.99 gram/year, 95% CI, -48.09 to -33.88), whereas each serving’s increase of cheese was positively associated (beta: -10.97 gram/year, 95% CI, 2.86 to 19.07). Furthermore, the highest dairy intake category was associated with a reduced risk of abdominal obesity (OR: 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.95), and risk of overweight (OR: 0.87; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.00) compared to the lowest intake category. No significant association could be observed for risk of weight gain.
Conclusion

In summary the results of the meta-analysis still reflect that dairy consumption was not positively related to changes in body weight. Yogurt was the only dairy food that showed some evidence for a beneficial effect, where higher intakes were inversely associated a reduced risk of obesity, changes in body weight or waist circumference. Further research is needed, since the overall interpretation of the results is limited by heterogeneous risk estimates.



In summary, there is no definitive answer. I eat full-fat because it tastes good.

It depends on taste and the degree of satisfaction I get from the product. I use a generous amount of steamed, foamy half and half (12% fat) in my coffee and wouldn't have it any other way. I won't eat low fat or non fat ice cream - why bother? I use low or reduced fat cheeses because I can't really taste the difference. Same with my soy milk and almond milk for cereal etc.: the low fat tastes just as good for me. I like full fat (4%) yogurt in my evening smoothie.

I mix it up too depending on the food or beverage.

I think it depends. I go with full fat yogurt generally and I don't really drink milk. If I did, it would be low fat milk versus non-fat for the taste aspect.

sarajenivieve wrote: »

Dairy in general is pretty unhealthy so I'd recommend neither.

How so?

from Food and Nutrition (2016) - Milk and dairy products: good or bad for human health? An assessment of the totality of scientific evidence

this is a meta-analysis - so it takes all the studies published that fit certain criteria and review for themes...its often seen as the gold-standard in research

Background

There is scepticism about health effects of dairy products in the public, which is reflected in an increasing intake of plant-based drinks, for example, from soy, rice, almond, or oat.
Objective

This review aimed to assess the scientific evidence mainly from meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised controlled trials, on dairy intake and risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and all-cause mortality.
Results

The most recent evidence suggested that intake of milk and dairy products was associated with reduced risk of childhood obesity. In adults, intake of dairy products was shown to improve body composition and facilitate weight loss during energy restriction. In addition, intake of milk and dairy products was associated with a neutral or reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke. Furthermore, the evidence suggested a beneficial effect of milk and dairy intake on bone mineral density but no association with risk of bone fracture. Among cancers, milk and dairy intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, gastric cancer, and breast cancer, and not associated with risk of pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, or lung cancer, while the evidence for prostate cancer risk was inconsistent. Finally, consumption of milk and dairy products was not associated with all-cause mortality. Calcium-fortified plant-based drinks have been included as an alternative to dairy products in the nutrition recommendations in several countries. However, nutritionally, cow's milk and plant-based drinks are completely different foods, and an evidence-based conclusion on the health value of the plant-based drinks requires more studies in humans.
Conclusion

The totality of available scientific evidence supports that intake of milk and dairy products contribute to meet nutrient recommendations, and may protect against the most prevalent chronic diseases, whereas very few adverse effects have been reported.

I dont (well, very very rarely) drink milk at all these days thats not in a cup of coffee or a shake. Other than that I go by preference. I do whole milk for coffee because I like it and I would rather use a small amount of that milk than a large amount of skim milk to get the same taste. I use lowfat cottage cheese because I like the consistency better and I eat fat free greek yogurt because that's what aldi sells.

sarajenivieve wrote: »

ccrdragon wrote: »

sarajenivieve wrote: »

Dairy in general is pretty unhealthy so I'd recommend neither.

How so?

It's been linked to osteoporosis as well as some other diseases, idk the american version but the Dairy farmers council was actually sued a few years ago due to their false claims about"strong bones" and are no longer allowed to market that way. I'm multitasking at work or I would find more info for you but the information is publicly available so you should be able to find more information semi easily, anything praising dairy always check who published and who funded its usually funded by the dairy council.

Where did you read this? Because the National Dairy Council still cites bone health as a health benefit of milk in their current website: https://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/health-and-wellness