You mean cheese won’t help me lose weight?
Kudos to the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), who were the driving force behind the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s new ban on the touting of dairy products as weight-loss foods. The FTC decision was based on the overwhelming lack of scientific evidence to support the claim. The dairy industry’s huge-budget, celebrity-starred campaign around milk and dairy for weight loss was based on a tiny study funded by the industry. Most health researchers clearly agree that most dairy products are more closely linked to weight gain than loss. Dairy fat is one of the most highly saturated fats in all the foods we eat.
Unfortunately, I think the damage is done. That was a huge campaign, and targeted nutritionists as well as women via beautiful big print and TV ads over several years. They were convincing, and I’m sure that most Americans would say that dairy products will help them lose weight.
If only we got the message that it’s the fat in dairy that’s the culprit. But unfortunately, since the dairy industry didn’t want to speak badly of the bulk of its products, we never fully got that message. In the end, I’m afraid; dieters are more confused than ever.
Can dairy fit into a healthy diet? Sure, if you look for low fat and fat free options, and are conscious of your overall caloric intake. The PCRM doesn’t agree with me on that, though – they prescribe to a vegan diet, no dairy or animal products at all. A vegan diet, featuring lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and vegetable proteins, is likely the healthiest one we can eat. (What other type of vegan diet is there? I know many teens that are vegans but don’t like fruit or vegetables and eat pure junk food.) A nutrition nightmare and part of the reason that teen girls have the worst diets of any age or gender group (they average something close to 30% of their needs for calcium, this during their prime bone-building years). But anyway, I personally and professionally feel that if someone is not interested or able to go vegan, that organic low fat dairy can certainly be part of a very healthy diet.
Anyway, the message is: dairy fat, found in dairy foods, is not part of a winning weight-loss (or maintenance) strategy.
Read the PCRM’s May 11th announcement on the issue here.