Delicious UK - (03)March 2020

THE HEALTH DEBR I EF

&FAD-FREEinsight&DEBUNKEDfood&healthnews&HEALTHFUL ways to eat better&

PH

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TIM

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OR: FRAN

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THE MEDIC’S VIEW

COMPILED BY SUE QUINN

U

ntilrecently, theadvicehasbeentodrinkskimmedmilkto

improvehealth, reducethe riskofcardiovasculardiseaseand

wardoffobesity. CurrentNHSGuidelinesstatethatchildren

andadultsshouldchooselower-fatmilksbecausetoomuchfatin

thedietcontributestoobesity.Althoughveryyoungchildrenare

stilladvisedtodrinkfull-fatmilk,theadviceis tomoveyoungsters

ontoskimmedmilktohelpreducechildhoodobesitylevels.

Butrecentresearchindicatesthisnutritionadvicemayhavebeen

wrongallalong.A systematicreviewof 28 observationalstudies

involving21,000childrenandpublishedintheAmericanJournal

ofClinicalNutritionshowsthathigherconsumptionoffull-fatmilk

is actuallyassociatedwithlowerlevelsofobesityinchildren.The

caseforfull-fatis alsosupportedbyrecentresearchconducted

indevelopingcountries(thePUREstudy), whichshowsit is not

saturatedfatbuta high carbohydrateintakethat’sassociatedwith

a higherriskoftotalmortality.

Furtherstudiesareclearlyneededtounderstandhowspecific

foodaffectsourhealthbut,likeeverythinginnutrition,thesecret

is a balancedapproach.Ifyoulikefull-fatmilk,you’reinluck.If

youpreferskimmedorplantmilk,continuehavingit.Obesityis

theresultofa numberofcomplex nutritional decisions, but natural,

full-fat milk should no longer be seen as the enemy.

BY DR TIM SPECTOR FA STASTFACTFAC

Some of us are

genetically hard-wired

to dislike bitter vegetables

such as broccoli and brussels

sprouts. Inheriting two

copies of the ‘unpleasant

taste gene’ (known as

TAS2R38) could also

make beer, coffee and

dark chocolate taste awful.

TIM IS PROFESSOR OF GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY AT KING’S COLLEGE LONDON AND AUTHOR OF THE DIET
MYTH (WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON £8.99) AND SPOON-FED – OUT 14 MAY (JONATHAN CAPE £12.99)

Natural, full-fat

milkis no longer

the enemy

DID YOU

KNOW?

A newstudyinthejournal

Naturefoundsaltcancause

a deficiencyinnitricoxide,a

compound essentialforgood

bloodflow,includingtothe

brain, and may contribute to

theonsetofdementia.

ResearchersatWeillCornell

MedicineinNewYorkCity

believelownitricoxide

levelscauseaproteinlinked

todementiatoaccumulatein

thebrain.Thebottomline?

Loweringsaltintakemay

‘staveoff’dementia.