American researchers are calling for a reevaluation of recommendations regarding full-fat dairy products. According to the scientists, unprocessed red meat also has a “minimal impact” on health, while cheese and fish are essential for a healthy diet.
Essential Foods for Your Diet
The researchers identified full-fat dairy products as one of six “key” foods that can help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Fish, nuts, legumes, and vegetables were also included in this list following a large-scale analysis involving nearly 250,000 participants.
Despite recent associations between red meat and cancer as well as heart disease, it was believed to be part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation. However, scientists pointed out that this applies only to unprocessed meat, unlike bacon and sausages.
The findings were validated based on five major independent studies conducted across 70 countries. The researchers noted that an optimal healthy diet (also referred to as a “clean” diet) consists of 3-4 servings of legumes, 7 servings of nuts, 2-3 servings of fish, and 14 servings of low-fat dairy products, including milk, yogurt, or cheese.
Additionally, one can consume a “moderate amount” or one serving of whole grains and unprocessed meat. Furthermore, a “clean” diet may include one slice of bread, half a cup of cooked rice, barley, or quinoa, and approximately 85 grams of cooked red meat or poultry.
What Should a Healthy Diet Look Like?
Lead author of the study, Dr. Andrew Mente, emphasizes that low-fat foods have taken center stage among the public and in the food industry. Nutritional labels focus on reducing fat and saturated fats.
According to Mr. Mente’s team, the priority should be to increase the intake of protective foods. These include nuts, fish, and dairy products, which are often avoided due to their high energy content.
Moreover, limiting dairy products, especially full-fat ones, to very low amounts is not necessary. Mr. Mente explained to Daily Mail reporters that research results indicate that up to two servings of dairy products (primarily full-fat) can be included in a healthy diet. This aligns with modern nutritional science, which shows that these products can protect against high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.
The Connection Between Diet and Health Outcomes
Each participant in the study was assigned a healthy diet score ranging from zero to six. A score of five or more was considered associated with a lower risk of mortality. The calculations also took into account age, gender, waist-to-hip ratio, education level, income, urban or rural location, physical activity, smoking status, diabetes, use of statins or blood pressure medications, and overall energy intake.
The average diet score was 2.95. During an average follow-up period of 9.3 years, there were 15,707 deaths and 40,764 heart attacks and strokes recorded.
Those who scored five or more on the healthy diet scale had a 30% lower chance of dying during the study period compared to peers who scored one or less. They also had a 19%, 18%, and 14% lower chance of experiencing a stroke, cardiovascular disease, or heart attack.
Dr. Mente adds that this was the most comprehensive study of nutrition and health outcomes in the world and the only one with sufficient representation from countries with high, middle, and low incomes. The connection between a “clean” diet and health outcomes was observed in generally healthy individuals, patients with cardiovascular diseases, patients with diabetes, and across various economic environments.
The most pronounced effects were seen in regions with the lowest diet quality, including South Asia, China, and Africa, where calorie intake was low and refined carbohydrates predominated. It is worth noting that cardiovascular diseases (including heart attacks and strokes) kill more people worldwide than any other disease. According to WHO estimates, 18 million people die from them each year, accounting for over 30% of all deaths globally.
As noted by dietitian Dariush Mozaffarian, who did not participate in the study, the new findings regarding the “clean” diet, combined with previous reports, call for a reevaluation of steadfast recommendations to avoid full-fat dairy products. He believes it is time for national dietary guidelines that could impact millions of lives.