Can full-fat = full health?

We’re dairy-loving people in our house – and not just because my family has dairy cattle. We genuinely love all things dairy. And my two-year-old may be the queen of the dairy-loving kingdom.

Seriously. This day, she had milk, strawberries, yogurt, and cream cheese – with a little bit of bagel because that’s just the way she rolls – for breakfast.

Like I said. HT loves her dairy.

Right now, she’s drinking whole milk. But, growing up in the “full-fat dairy will kill you!” era, I’ve wondered, “Is it time to switch to 2 percent?”

Enter “The Full-Fat Paradox: Dairy Fat linked to Lower Diabetes Risk,” on NPR’s The Salt.

For years, the dairy industry had touted the benefits of drinking milk and consuming dairy products. Health officials and nutritionists have only half agreed, saying low-fat dairy products are the best for optimum health.

However, a new study finds that the dairy fats found in milk, yogurt and cheese may help protect against one of the most prominent diseases in the U.S.: Type 2 diabetes.

Published in the journal Circulation, the study included 3,333 adults and measured circulated levels of biomarkers of dairy fat in participants” blood. Over two decades, the researched tracked who among the participants developed diabetes.

According to the study, participants who had more dairy fat in their diet had a lower risk of diabetes.

“People who had the most dairy fat in their diet had about a 50 percent lower risk of diabetes,” compared with the people who consumed the least dairy fat, said Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Polciy at Tufts University, who is also an author of the study.

That’s pretty interesting information, especially for someone like me, who grew up on the information that to eat dairy in a healthy way, you had to eat the low-fat version.

To top it off, NPR’s The Salt also recently reported that additional research shows that children and adults who have a higher intake of whole milk or 2 percent milk gain less weight over time.

Researchers don’t know why full-fat may equal full health, but that doesn’t matter.

What does matter is my two-year-old’s hefty whole milk habit (and love for all things dairy – including the cows) is a healthy habit to have.

 

 

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The Weekly Round Up – The one with Pat and Stan, goats, rural road safety, chemicals, Frozen and whole milk.

It’s time for another edition of the Weekly Round Up! We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get to it:

• First up, this video, which features two Illinois Farm Bureau members. Try to ignore the fact that the lyrics’ syllables in the parody don’t exactly match the original lyrics’ syllables, and just enjoy the first part of the video where they introduce Stan, whose real name is Gerald, but had to call him Stan because nothing rhymes with Gerald.
• Also, this article (and accompanying video) from CNN, which is really interesting. We actually use to have a couple of goats on my family’s dairy farm because they help keep some diseases away and I can personally verify that they do, in fact, eat almost anything.
• This, because there’s nothing like the smell of harvest. And if you’re not familiar with the smell of harvest, may this just serve as a reminder to be safe on those rural roads if you happen to travel them. Farm implements move slowly and it takes only seconds to be right on their tails. Remember to share the road with farmers so everyone gets home safely!
• This article (and accompanying video) from the HuffPost, which takes on chemicals in food. Check it out, it’s a couple of months old, but it’s definitely worth your time.
• In case you didn’t know, it’s again time to celebrate National 4-H Week. Do you have a 4-Her at home? If not, get your kids signed up! To do so, contact your local county Extension office.
• Do you have a little girl at home who is IN LOVE with Disney’s Frozen? H is still a little too young to really get into Disney movies, but she loves the music. And, following in her Mama’s footsteps, H loves her horses, too. So it’s no surprise that she and I both love this video because, well, it’s just the best of everything, combining the music from Frozen and the horses we love. The video’s not new, but is recently experiencing a resurgence on social media. If you’ve got a little one who loves Frozen and horses, sit him/her down and watch. Heck, even if you don’t, give it a view. It’s good stuff. For more on the story behind the video, check, out this CNN article with rider, Laura Sumrall.
• And finally, this, from the Washington Post. For years, the government has advised folks to stay away from whole milk. But have they been wrong all along?

And a bonus from one of my favorite farm mom bloggers, Emily Webel, over at Confessions of a Farm Wife. This one has nothing to do with farming and everything to do with being a mama. Check it out. And keep the tissues handy.

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