- New research suggests that full-fat dairy can be part of a healthy diet.
- Having full-fat dairy up to three times a week did not meaningfully impact weight or cholesterol.
- Dietitians say there are caveats to consider.
For some time, many major medical and nutritional organizations have recommended choosing low-fat dairy. But recently, there’s been growing interest in full-fat dairy and its potential role in a healthy diet—and new research suggests fans of full-fat dairy may be on the right track.
The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, enrolled 74 participants classified as overweight or obese and divided them into three groups. One group followed a low-dairy, calorie-restricted diet. Another had an “energy neutral” diet—meaning, they ate the same number of calories that they burned—that included three servings of full-fat dairy a day. The third group followed an unrestricted diet that included three daily servings of full-fat dairy. The participants followed their assigned diets for 12 weeks, as researchers tracked a slew of health measurements.
When they crunched the numbers, the researchers found no meaningful differences in weight gain, body composition, or cholesterol levels between those who followed the low-dairy diet and those who had three servings of full-fat dairy a day. They also didn’t have higher levels of lipids—a type of fat found in the blood—or increased signs of insulin resistance (a phenomenon that occurs when your body stops responding well to the hormone insulin, which raises the risk of several metabolic diseases). However, the participants who had more dairy did see improvements in their blood pressure and ended up ingesting more calcium, protein, and vitamin D.
“The fear of fat in dairy has completely misled us about dairy and its advantages,” says G. Harvey Anderson, Ph.D., lead study author and director of the Program in Food Science Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Toronto.
So, what does this mean for you and your diet? Below, dietitians break it down.
Meet the experts: G. Harvey Anderson, Ph.D., lead study author and director of the Program in Food Science Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Toronto; Jessica Cording, R.D., author of The Little Book of Game-Changers; Sonya Angelone, Ph.D., R.D.N., a nutritionist and registered dietitian based in San Francisco; Juli MacKenna, R.D., clinical nutrition manager at MelroseWakefield Hospital
Why might full-fat dairy be a healthy choice?
It’s important to note that the study didn’t directly compare full-fat dairy and low-fat dairy—it only compared full-fat dairy with a low-dairy diet. It’s also possible that the 12-week study was too short to see meaningful increases in weight, cholesterol, and insulin resistance.
Still, the findings raise questions about whether full-fat dairy has been unfairly villainized in the past, particularly because this isn’t the only recent study to find that full-fat dairy may have health benefits. A 2025 study published in the journal Neurology, for example, analyzed data from nearly 28,000 people in Sweden and found a link between eating high-fat cheese and a 13% lower risk of developing dementia. (They didn’t find the same link with low-fat dairy.)
So, what’s behind these apparent perks? Juli MacKenna, R.D., clinical nutrition manager at MelroseWakefield Hospital, says it may have something to do with how the body absorbs nutrients from full-fat dairy. “In the case of vitamins, full-fat dairy supports better absorption of fat-soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K—because the fat helps transport them,” she says.
High-fat dairy may also offset the rise in blood sugar from carbohydrates, possibly lowering risk for diabetes, says Sonya Angelone, Ph.D., R.D.N., a nutritionist and registered dietitian based in San Francisco. (This may explain the lack of change in insulin resistance, she says.)
“While full-fat dairy contains more saturated fat and calories than low-fat and non-fat dairy, it may also promote satiety and influence metabolism differently,” says Jessica Cording, R.D., author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. Because the fat in full-fat dairy can support more stable blood sugar, it can help someone feel fuller, longer, she points out. “This can translate to eating less later in the day,” she says.
MacKenna adds that full-fat dairy may help people feel fuller, longer and take in fewer calories overall: “Sometimes when people focus on cutting fat, they start eating more refined carbohydrates and sugar, which can lead to other health risks.”
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As for the change in blood pressure the researchers observed, though, experts doubt it’s entirely attributable to full-fat dairy. “Blood pressure is influenced by someone’s entire diet pattern, so it’s difficult to attribute the change in blood pressure observed in this study to milk fat alone,” Cording says.
This doesn’t mean everyone should ditch low-fat dairy.
The American Heart Association (AHA) still recommends low-fat and fat-free dairy products because they’re lower in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories.
Saturated fats can raise levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the AHA. That’s why the AHA recommends getting no more than 6% of your total daily calories from saturated fat. (While the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest having three servings of full-fat dairy a day, they also recommend having no more than 10% of your daily calories come from saturated fat.)
However, in the new study, the researchers propose saturated fats from dairy may behave differently in the body than other saturated fats—a theory known as the “dairy matrix hypothesis.” The idea is that dairy breaks down slowly over time, thanks to its unique physical structure; as a result, it releases nutrients, including saturated fats, at a steady pace. This would mean the effects of getting saturated fat from dairy may be different from the effects caused by other sources of saturated fat.
Cording says the “dairy matrix” is coming up more and more with food scientists, but the jury’s still out. “Further research may show us more about the dairy matrix and its impact on health,” she says.
It’s still important to be mindful of how much fat you’re getting, both from dairy and other sources, MacKenna says.
Age should also be a factor when deciding whether to choose full-fat or low-fat dairy, Anderson says. “Children need more energy. Having higher fat—which is calories—is absolutely great for them,” he says. “For somebody older who has already accumulated quite a bit of fat, you might be better off choosing low-fat dairy.”
Ultimately, Cording says, “Full-fat dairy isn’t automatically unhealthy, just as low-fat dairy isn’t automatically healthier. Nutrition is rarely about one food. It’s really someone’s overall diet pattern that matters most for long-term health.”
How to incorporate full-fat dairy into your diet
While the latest findings suggest that full-fat dairy can be part of a healthy eating plan, it doesn’t mean it’s the cornerstone of a good diet. “Eat a healthy diet based on minimally-processed foods with plenty of produce and whole grain items,” Angelone says. From there, you can add in small amounts of high-fat dairy products, she says.
It’s also not necessary to overcommit. “With full-fat dairy, you don’t have to take an all-or-nothing approach,” Cording points out. MacKenna agrees: “You can balance your intake based on preference,” she says. “I prefer full-fat yogurt for the thicker, creamy texture, but I drink low-fat milk.”
Angelone recommends talking to your healthcare provider if you have heart disease or high cholesterol—they may have different suggestions around having high-fat dairy in your diet.
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