Dietary fats are essential for human health. In addition to supplying energy, they help your body maintain healthy skin and hair and absorb fat-soluble nutrients, such as vitamins A and D. Not all fats affect your wellness positively, however. Saturated fat, the form prevalent in cow's milk, is associated with potentially serious health risks when consumed in excess. Learning about the fats in dairy products may help guide you toward making wise dietary decisions.
Prevalence
Your body uses some saturated fat for proper function, but it produces more than enough to meet your needs. For this reason, reaping saturated fat from foods is unnecessary. However, most Americans consume excessive amounts, according to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Eating a 1/2-cup serving of whole-milk ricotta cheese provides over 10 g of saturated fat. A 1/2 cup of rich vanilla ice cream or 1 tbsp. of butter provides nearly 8 g.
Guidelines
In general, 20 to 35 percent of a healthy diet should consist of fat. For optimum heart health, the American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to less than 7 percent of your total daily calories, which equates to 16 g per day within a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet. Your remaining fats should stem from healthy sources, such as nuts, seeds, avocados, cold-water fish such as salmon and mackerel, and vegetable oils.
Risks
Foods containing saturated fat raise the amount of cholesterol in your blood. High cholesterol is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Many saturated fat sources, including cheese, whole milk, reduced-fat milk and ice cream, also contain cholesterol, which can increase your cholesterol levels even more. Saturated fat may also increase inflammation in your body, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, and worsen symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis, tendinitis and Crohn's disease.
Suggestions
If you tolerate dairy products well, low-fat varieties may serve as valuable sources of lean protein, calcium and vitamin D. Because many Americans lack calcium, the DGA recommends consuming more nonfat and low-fat milk and milk products, such as yogurt, cheese and milk, or relying on nondairy equivalents, such as fortified soy milk. Other nondairy calcium sources include tofu, canned salmon and tuna, leafy greens and almond. Limit fried and processed high-fat dairy products, such as fried mozzarella sticks and cream-filled pastries, in particular, which contain even more unhealthy fat and cholesterol than natural whole-milk products.
References
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: Saturated Fat Content of Common Foods
- American Heart Association: Saturated Fats
- Linus Pauling Institute; Two Faces of Inflammation; Victoria J. Drake; 2007
- MayoClinic.com: Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork
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