Effects of low-fat or full-fat fermented and non-fermented dairy foods on selected cardiovascular biomarkers in overweight adults

Abstract

The association between consumption of full-fat dairy foods and CVD may depend partly on the nature of products and may not apply to low-fat dairy foods. Increased circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers after consumption of dairy product-rich meals suggest an association with CVD. In the present study, we tested the effects of low-fat and full-fat dairy diets on biomarkers associated with inflammation, oxidative stress or atherogenesis and on plasma lipid classes. Within full-fat dairy diets, we also compared fermented v. non-fermented products. In a randomised cross-over study, twelve overweight/obese subjects consumed during two 3-week periods two full-fat dairy diets containing either yogurt plus cheese (fermented) or butter, cream and ice cream (non-fermented) or a low-fat milk plus yogurt diet, with the latter being consumed between and at the end of the full-fat dairy dietary periods. The concentrations of six inflammatory and two atherogenic biomarkers known to be raised in CVD were measured as well as those of plasma F 2 -isoprostanes and lipid classes. The concentrations of six of the eight biomarkers tended to be higher on consumption of the low-fat dairy diet than on that of the fermented dairy diet and the concentrations of two plasmalogen lipid classes reported to be associated with increased oxidisability were also higher on consumption of the low-fat dairy diet than on that of the fermented dairy diet (P,0·001), although plasma F 2 -isoprostane concentrations did not differ on consumption of any of the diets. On the other hand, the concentrations of plasma sphingomyelin and IL-6 were significantly higher on consumption of the non-fermented dairy diet than on that of the low-fat dairy diet (P,0·02). In conclusion, short-term diets containing low-fat dairy products did not lead to a more favourable biomarker profile associated with CVD risk compared with the full-fat dairy products, suggesting that full-fat fermented dairy products may be the more favourable.

Postprandial Plasma Phospholipids in Men Are Influenced by the Source of Dietary Fat

“…Lysophosphatidylcholine and lyso-platelet-activating factor (lysoalkylphosphatidylcholine, an ether-linked phospholipid derived from alkylphosphatidylcholine) correlated with number of servings of dairy foods and were indirectly associated with markers of insulin resistance. In the present study 3 ether-linked phospholipids, alkylphosphatidylcholine, alkenylphosphatidylcholine, and alkylphosphatidylethanolamine, showed substantially different responses between dairy and soy meals, increasing after the dairy meal but decreasing after the soy meal, which, as noted in the previous paragraph (41), may alter the postprandial oxidative stress.…”

“…We have reported previously substantial associations between several phospholipid species and full-fat dairy consumption over 3 wk (41). Lysophosphatidylcholine and lyso-platelet-activating factor (lysoalkylphosphatidylcholine, an ether-linked phospholipid derived from alkylphosphatidylcholine) correlated with number of servings of dairy foods and were indirectly associated with markers of insulin resistance.…”

Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity

“…57, 221-226 For example, intake of yogurt, but not milk, is consistently associated with lower incidence of diabetes; while intake of cheese, which has high calorie, fat, and saturated fat content, also associates with lower diabetes risk in several although not all studies. 57, 179-184, 224, 226-228 While total milk intake is generally unassociated with diabetes, fermented milk is linked to lower risk; 57, 227, 229 suggesting a potential influence of fermentation, particularly in light of the separate findings for cheese. Bacterial cultures used for fermentation synthesize vitamin K2 (menaquinones), which may improve insulin sensitivity.…”

Comprehensive Review of the Impact of Dairy Foods and Dairy Fat on Cardiometabolic Risk

“…With the use of a crossover study design, Nestel et al (45) compared the impact of a low-fat dairy diet (skimmed milk and 1%-fat yogurt) with 2 regular-fat dairy diets, 1 of which included fermented products (full-fat yogurt and cheddar cheese) and the other of which included no fermented products (butter, cream, and ice cream) on inflammatory biomarkers in 12 overweight and obese subjects. The concentrations of most of the biomarkers investigated were statistically comparable between diets, with the exception of plasma IL-6 concentrations, which were significantly higher after the regular-fat nonfermented dairy diet than after the low-fat dairy diet (mean ± SE: 7.0 ± 0.9 compared with 6.2 ± 0.7 pg/mL, P < 0.05) (45).…”