Got Milk?

I admit I used to be a milk skeptic. I thought its health benefits were widely overpromoted. But the more I look at studies of milk drinkers, the more I wonder if I've been wrong.

We live in the era of low-fat milk, especially here in the states. It is dastardly hard to even find full-fat dairy products anymore. Almost everything is "low-fat" and a lot is "skim". Science, however, is quickly discovering that the old adage that "you are what you eat" isn't always perfectly true.

It's sugar which makes you fat, and even elevates your risk for heart disease (study). And you know what you're left with when you take the fat out of milk? Nothing but sugar water with a little protein and few vitamins.

Women who drink fuller fatted milk products tended to have lower BMIs than women who drank low-fat or skim products. High fat dairy has been associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease in men. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that these studies were all done on Swedes.

Does this matter? It might not. Maybe Swedes get more of their dairy from grass-fed cows. Maybe they have some genes Americans lack. Maybe it's the result of other factors interplaying with full-fat dairy consumption.

Still, whole milk or even cream is starting to look pretty good.