Drink milk, eat cheese: It's healthier than you think

Words: Peta Bee Producer: Louise Starkey

Gone are the days of ditching dairy to improve heart health after findings found yoghurt, milk and cheese could be better for you than expected.

People who eat more saturated fats from red meat and butter are more likely to develop heart disease. However, those who consume more from cheese and yoghurt have some protection against it.

The consumption of milk — even the full-fat variety — has a neutral effect on heart health.

That's according to information published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, which analysed data looking at the cardiovascular health of middle-aged people in nine European countries. They found no link between the amount of saturated fats consumed and incidence of heart disease when compared with intake of other fats.

"We've become very reductionist in the way we view foods, but in fact all foods are very complex and contain a cocktail of nutrients that might help or harm health through multiple mechanisms... Cheese is produced by the fermentation of milk and so contains some probiotics as well as vitamin K2 which, overall, are good for heart health."

Professor Nita Forouhi Nutritional epidemiology program leader of the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge Picture: University of Cambridge

In the second new paper, researchers from the University of South Australia and the University of Maine reported how eating dairy — yoghurt in particular — can help to reduce blood pressure levels in people with hypertension, another risk factor for heart disease.

"Foods have multiple good and bad effects and just because we have shown milk, yoghurt and cheese don’t affect heart disease in the way that was once thought, we should not eat them to excess."

Dr Alexandra Wade Research associate at the University of South Australia’s department of health and human performance and a lead author on the paper Picture: University of South Australia