Dairy Products and Cardiovascular Health
While diet is one of the key factors affecting heart health and dietary intervention is one of the most important strategies for reducing your risk of heart disease; the association between cardiovascular risk and dairy product consumption – especially high-fat dairy product consumption has been highly debated.
Read on to learn more about the association between cardiovascular risk and dairy products and have an up-to-date perspective on the high-fat dairy-cardiovascular risk debate.
Heart disease in Canada
Heart disease is the 2nd leading cause of death in Canada. According to 2017–2018 data from the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System (CCDSS): About 1 in 12 (or 2.6 million) Canadian adults age 20+ live with diagnosed heart disease. Every hour 14 Canadian adults age 20+ with diagnosed heart disease die.
Risk factors for heart disease which you can modify include:
- Unhealthy diet
- Physical inactivity
- Unhealthy weight
- Tobacco use
- Harmful alcohol use
Did you know?
The early detection and management of medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol can help you reduce your risk of heart disease.
Diet is one of the key factors affecting heart health and dietary intervention is one of the most important strategies for reducing your risk of heart disease. While eating a healthy diet which includes optimal amounts of nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and nuts is associated with a lower risk of heart disease; the association between cardiovascular risk and dairy product consumption – especially high-fat dairy product consumption has been highly debated.
Read on to learn more about the association between dairy product consumption and cardiovascular risk.
Evidence: dairy consumption and cardiovascular health
The research on dairy consumption and cardiovascular health is substantial.
Looking at some evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating the association between dairy product consumption and cardiovascular risk shows:
(Systematic reviews gather and synthesize all evidence that fit pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question. Systematic reviews also often include a meta-analysis, which involves using statistical techniques to merge data from several studies and summarize their results.)
- Total dairy consumption was associated with a modestly lower risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke from fifty-five prospective cohort studies included in the systematic review and meta-analysis by Chen et al. The researchers also found the body of evidence on total dairy consumption and risk of cardiovascular outcomes was of low to moderate quality. (Chen et al. Adv Nutr. 2022;13:439–454)
- (A prospective cohort is a type of research study that follows a group of similar people over time, but differ by certain factors and compare them to investigate the relationship between the factors and a particular outcome)
- Alexander et al. conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis which included thirty-one prospective cohort studies and reported that dairy consumption may be associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD), CHD, and stroke. The researchers stated additional data are needed to more comprehensively examine potential dose-response patterns. (Alexander et al. Br J Nutr. 2016;115:737-750)
- Other studies have not found a significant relationship between dairy foods and cardiovascular disease outcome. Research by Akesson et al. found no conclusion on the specific direction of the association between dairy consumption and risk of CVD. The researchers further explained, the studies may have had limited ability to detect the effect of a single food in a mixed diet on complex clinical outcomes. (Akesson et al. Food Nutr Res. 2013;57:22790)
- An important take-away from the research is there is a lack of strong evidence of an increased risk of any cardiovascular outcomes associated with the consumption of dairy, regardless of the type of dairy (i.e. total dairy, high-fat dairy, low-fat dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt) or of their fat content. This lack of data supporting potential harms, especially with high-fat dairy consumption is of relevance and importance for the high-fat dairy-cardiovascular risk debate.
Potential mechanisms
Dairy products contain various nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, vitamin D, protein and bioactive peptides which may explain the beneficial role of dairy products on cardiovascular health.
The table below summarizes some of the potential mechanism and the nutrients or compounds found in dairy products that may be protective against cardiovascular disease.
| Potential mechanism | Dairy nutrients or compounds that may be protective |
| Reduce blood pressure/Blood pressure control | Calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin D, bioactive peptides |
| Decrease the cholesterol-raising effects of saturated fat | Calcium |
| Enhance insulin sensitivity | Vitamin D |
| Increase satiety | Protein |
Evidence also suggests that the dairy matrix as a whole, rather than the individual compounds is important, which may also influence the impact of dairy consumption on cardiovascular health.
Take Away
- Heart disease is the 2nd leading cause of death in Canada.
- Diet is one of the key factors affecting heart health and dietary intervention is one of the most important strategies for reducing your risk of heart disease.
- While eating a healthy diet which includes optimal amounts of nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and nuts is associated with a lower risk of heart disease; the association between cardiovascular risk and dairy product consumption – especially high-fat dairy product consumption has been highly debated.
- Recent evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses shows total dairy consumption was associated with a modestly lower risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Other studies have not found a significant relationship between dairy foods and cardiovascular disease outcomes.
- An important take-away from the research is there is a lack of strong evidence for an increased risk of any cardiovascular outcomes associated with the consumption of dairy, regardless of the type of dairy (i.e. total dairy, high-fat dairy, low-fat dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt) or of their fat content.
- Dairy products contain various nutrients and compounds which may explain the beneficial role of dairy products on cardiovascular health. More research is needed to further examine how dairy product consumption impacts cardiovascular health.
