Full-fat milk may be better for your heart than skimmed, new study finds

A team of researchers have discovered full-fat milk may be better for the heart than skimmed milk, the Daily Mail reported.

Denmark's University of Copenhagen researchers found it helps raise levels of 'good' High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in one's bloodstream.  

For the study, volunteers were given for 500 ml skimmed milk or whole milk everyday for three weeks. The process was then repeated switching the kind of milk.

Researchers then took cholesterol tests to measure how the types of milk had an affect on blood lipids such as LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, the report revealed.

High cholesterol is dangerous as it increases the risk of coronary heart disease, strokes and vascular



diseases.

However, good cholesterol helps to carry away the bad kind from arteries and transferred back to the liver where it is broken down.

Authors of the study hope their findings could help people better understand the health benefits of full fat milk.

 "Dietary guidelines have for decades recommended choosing low-fat dairy products due to the high content of saturated fat in dairy known to increase blood concentration of LDL cholesterol," their report stated according to the Daily Mail.

Adding, "But studies show no association between overall dairy intake and risk of cardiovascular disease and even point to an inverse association with type 2 diabetes."

The study was originally published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.