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.