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It was the 1980s. Fitness icons like Richard Simmons, Jane Fonda and Arnold Schwarzenegger captivated audiences at home and in movie theaters. The U.S Department of Agriculture released the first set of dietary guidelines for the country. In the years to follow, food pyramids decorated countless classrooms, and America’s war on saturated fats was upon us.
One food, according to some nutrition experts, became a standout casualty: whole milk.
Whole milk contains more saturated fat and calories compared to low-fat or skim milk. Saturated fat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and general guidance suggests you should limit your saturated fat intake in favor of unsaturated fat whenever possible.
However, recent research has shown that whole milk and other dairy products may not be associated with such negative health outcomes.
The findings have stirred debate in the scientific community. While some experts argue that it warrants a change in dietary guidelines, others contend the science isn’t conclusive.
“Understanding how specific foods affect health is complicated,” said Dr. Gabby Headrick, associate director of Food and Nutrition Policy at George Washington University’s Institute for Food and Safety and Nutrition Security.
The ‘war’ on whole milk
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s health team wants to bring back whole milk.
On Sept. 9, his Make America Healthy Again commission presented its action plan to combat childhood chronic diseases in the U.S., which included changes to the “broken food pyramid,” according to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary.
He called it “one of the greatest sources of misinformation in modern American history.”
“We’re ending the 50-year war on natural, saturated fat,” Makary said during a press briefing. “Remarkably, schools by regulation are not supposed to have a certain amount of whole milk. That makes no sense scientifically. It’s been nutrition guidance by the government based not on evidence, but on dogma.”
Recent evidence shows dairy fat may not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke. A March study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found eating milk, yogurt and cheese, regardless of fat content, was “neutrally” associated with risk of cardiovascular disease.
Recommendations from the MAHA commission report said health agencies are planning to remove restrictions on whole milk sales in schools, allowing districts to offer full-fat dairy options alongside reduced-fat alternatives, and eliminate mandatory reduced-fat requirements in federal nutrition programs.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, agrees with the commission’s plans.
He said removing the full-fat options from school menus has led children to replace whole milk with more sugary options, like chocolate or strawberry milk, to make up for the lack of flavor in reduced-fat or skim milk options.
“Dairy fat has remained incarcerated where it doesn’t belong,” Mozaffarian said. “It’s clearly time to remove the limit on dairy fat… It’s long overdue.”
‘Science is still unsettled’
While some experts want to amend the dietary guidelines, others say more research is needed.
Qi Sun, associate professor in nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who co-authored the March study, said adding whole milk back to schools may be taking it too far. He argues the standard American diet already consists of too many saturated fats through fast food, meat and other sources and worries reintroducing whole milk would make things worse.
U.S. dietary guidelines recommend individuals limit their saturated fat intake to less than 10% of daily calories, but researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate only about 1/3 of adults over 20 met those guidelines in 2022.
However, adults who met those standards also consumed significantly more carbohydrates and significantly less protein and total fats, painting a complex picture of how they may substitute those calories and if that would be considered “healthier” than saturated fats.
“Dairy products are extremely complicated,” Sun said. “I would choose the option to keep the current recommendation unless you have overwhelming evidence.”
Headrick, from George Washington University, agrees.
“Some recent studies suggest that saturated fat from dairy might not have the same harmful effects as saturated fat from other foods … The science is still unsettled,” she said.
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at arodriguez@usatoday.com.