A new study, co-written by senior author Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, finds that the fats in milk, cheese, and other dairy products aren’t linked to a higher risk of death in older adults.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed nearly 3,000 adults age 65 years and older for twenty-two years. Rather than relying on what participants said they ate, the researchers measured their blood levels of three fatty acids found in dairy products, taking measurements three times over thirteen years. Higher fatty acid levels suggested a higher consumption of whole-fat dairy products.