Is Full Fat Dairy Healthy?

The choice between low fat and full fat dairy products has become the latest nutrition controversy. There is some emerging evidence that the saturated fat in dairy is less harmful than other sources of saturated fat.

However, randomized trials show that substituting low fat for high fat diary reduces LDL cholesterol by 5 to 10%. 

Furthermore, observational research has shown that substituting 5% of unsaturated fat with dairy fat increases risk of cardiovascular disease by 10 to 25%.

While dairy fat may not be as harmful as originally thought, there are much better choices.

It is better to go with low fat/fat free dairy and add to your meal a plant-based fat such as nuts, nut butter, avocado or olive oil. The health benefits of these fats have been shown clearly and consistently in the research literature.

Lifestyle Choices And Risk Of Hypertension

The Study

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is strongly associated with heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Nearly 50% of U.S. adults are hypertensive. In this interesting study, Harvard researchers wanted to find out how many of these cases could be prevented by healthy lifestyle choices.

This investigation pooled subjects from the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professional Follow-up Study. Over 50,000 men and women had their lifestyle measured and were watched for over 27 years to see if they developed hypertension. 

Here are the healthy lifestyle behaviors used in this study:

A BMI under 25.

Greater than 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week.

Top 40 percentile adherence to the DASH diet.

No more than one alcohol containing drink per day.

The population attributable risk when following all of these factors was 44%. This means that if everyone in the cohort followed these habits, almost half of the cases of hypertension would not have happened.

European Journal Of Medicine 2025;132:55-56

Take Home Message

It appears that healthy lifestyle choices can prevent a very significant amount of hypertension risk. Eating right, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight is not always easy, but the payoff is tremendous. 

Dietary Patterns And Weight Gain During Menopause

The Study

A common characteristic of menopause is weight gain. In this interesting study, over 38,000 women from Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study II cohort had their diets and weight measured for 12 years during their transition to menopause. The goal was to see how different dietary patterns impacted menopausal weight gain. Eleven dietary patterns were evaluated in this research.

Here are some of the most important results:

-Mean weight gain averaged about 2 lbs. per year.

-Diets that are considered healthy, such as the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet were actually associated with weight loss.

-Unhealthy diets, such as animal based low carb diets and patterns containing a lot of ultra-processed foods were associated with greater weight gain during menopause.

Regardless of dietary pattern, red and processed meats, sodium, potatoes and French fries were associated with weight gain. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes were associated with weight loss.

JAMA Network Open. 2026;9(5):e2613102.

Take Home Message

Weight gain during menopause is not a certain guarantee. With a healthy lifestyle, including the right dietary choices, weight gain during this transition can be minimized or even eliminated.

Is Beef Tallow A Good Fat To Cook With?

The latest Dietary Guidelines issued by the government promote beef tallow as a healthy fat choice. This was a surprising recommendation because it is loaded with saturated fat, which has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke consistently in the research literature. 

Healthier sources of fat have been shown to actually decrease risk of heart disease and stroke. These include olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds and avocados. These are the fats you should be choosing.

Can Eating Salmon Make You Smarter?

The Study

EPA and DHA are long chain fatty acids in the Omega 3 family. Good sources are salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel and herring. They have a lot of health benefits. In this interesting study, 557 eight year olds from Singapore had their fasting long chain fatty acids measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Their diets were also measured by means of a validated food frequency questionnaire at age 7.

Academic performance was measured by the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test III at age 9 and at age 12, their primary school final examination scores were obtained.

The percent of long chain fatty acids was associated with higher reading fluency, better spelling and significantly greater scores on their primary school final exams.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2026;123:101233

Take Home Message

There is more and more research showing that our diet influences our brain function.  This can often translate to improved academic or work performance when making the right dietary choices. Although word has gotten out somewhat in the last few years, I am not sure that people fully realize how what we eat shapes every facet of our lives.

Diet Soda And Weight Loss

The Study

The use of diet beverages to support weight loss remains controversial. In this interesting investigation that combined Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses Health Study 2 and Health Professional Follow-up Study, over 143,000 subjects had their diet and weight tracked for 28 years. The goal of this study was to see if diet soda helped people lose weight.

Here are some of the major findings:

-For every 4 year measurement period, subjects gained an average of about 3 pounds.

-Each 3 serving per week increase in diet soda consumption resulted in a small but significant weight loss during each 4 year measurement period. The association was strongest for the obese and heavy sugar soda drinkers.

-Replacing 3 sugar soda beverages with diet beverages each week was associated with a 3 pound weight loss every 4 year measurement period.

-This was the same as substituting 3 sugar soda beverages with water.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2026; 123:101261

Take Home Message

This study shows that over the long haul, drinking diet soda instead of regular soda is associated with improved body weight. This may seem like common sense to a lot of you, but many researchers have argued in the past that diet soda does not aid in weight loss and may even result in weight gain.

No one is considering diet soda a health food and drinking it all the time is a bad idea. However, the occasional diet soda or sugar free treat will allow you to stay away from sugar and this will make weight loss a lot easier.

Nutrition Priorities To Support GLP-1 Therapy

Use of GLP-1 medications is becoming common to treat obesity. Recent reports show that 6% of the US adult population is using GLP-1 therapy and 12% are currently using it or have in the past (Reference 1). It has quickly become clear that GLP-1 patients have nutrition and exercise needs that are not being met.

A joint advisory from several nutrition and obesity societies was recently published in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition. (Reference 2).

The Study

This joint advisory was comprehensive and very well put together. Here are some of the most important take home messages: 

-Research is showing that GLP-1 users cut their calories so severely that nutrient deficiencies often develop. The most likely deficiencies are iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, Vitamins A, D, E, K, B1, B12 and C.

-Such a dramatic reduction in calories (up to 40%) results in very rapid weight loss which contributes to muscle and bone loss. One trial cited in the advisory showed that 40% of weight lost by GLP-1 users was lean body mass.

-Another interesting finding is that 67% of patients stop using the medication after 1 year and 85% after 2 years. This is a problem because it looks like lost weight comes back on quickly after stopping this medication.

Conclusions And Recommendations

For many people, the GLP-1’s have been a godsend. However, as with any medication, it must be taken properly. In many cases, doctors are just prescribing this medication and letting people go out into the world and basically starve themselves. This has been a disaster.

Here are a few very important take home messages for those taking GLP-1’s:

-Don’t starve yourself. Be sure to track your calories. Women should not be eating less than 1,200 calories per day. Men should not be eating less than 1,500 calories per day. 

-Many GLP-1 users have the idea that because they are losing weight, they can eat whatever they want, just less of it. This is not the case. Because calories are so restricted, you have to ensure that the dramatically reduced amount of food you are eating is packed with nutrients. Otherwise, you will risk nutrient deficiencies.

-It is crucial to lift weights when you are on these medications. This is essential to preserve muscle and bone during the weight loss process.

-Lastly, prepare for life without these medications. Although people are supposed to stay on these meds for life, 85% stop taking them after 2 years. This is for a variety of reasons, including cost, side effects or decreased efficacy. Make sure you are preparing a diet, cardio and strength program to keep lost weight off if the medication is discontinued.

References

1) A. Montero, G. Sparks, M. Presiado et al.  KFF Health Tracking Poll May 2024: The public’s use and views of GLP-1 drugs, Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 2021.

2) Mozaffarian D, Agarwal M, Aggarwal M et al. Nutrition priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: A joint advisory. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2025: 122:344-67