The evaluation of objective biomarkers of dairy fat intake may improve the accuracy of dietary assessment and help clarify the associations of dairy and cardiovascular health. A study conducted among 2,837 U.S. multiethnic adults ages 45 to 84 found that higher plasma phospholipid 15:0, a biomarker of dairy fat intake, was associated with lower blood pressure and lower plasma triglycerides at baseline and was prospectively (more than 10 years) associated with 19 percent lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and 26 percent lower coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. These findings were similar in men and women and among whites, Hispanics, blacks and Asians.
The phospholipid 15:0 (pentadecanoic acid) cannot be synthesized by humans; blood levels were strongly associated with consumption of high-fat dairy products such as regular cheese, whole-fat milk and butter. These findings, say the authors, support the need for further investigations of the biological effects of dairy fat, dairy foods and circulating levels of 15:0 in the development of CVD.
Previous research by this group, using a food-based approach, found that a higher intake of dairy saturated fat was associated with lower CVD risk.
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