dairy - full-fat vs low-fat?

[Judy2]

hi there:)

i dimly remember asking about this before, but can't remember the conclusion we came to.

so i was vegan for six years and started eating eggs and dairy again two years ago. i eat dairy-based products mostly for protein, but usually gravitate toward the low-fat products. and i mean really low fat, sometimes the 0.1% (still single-ingredient and no added sugar).

i eat other healthy fats from nuts and high-quality oils, but i've been wondering if swapping the dairy for higher fat varieties would be a good call? it's something i started wondering about because i consume a lot of artificial sweeteners, which are also low calorie but not necessarily healthy and i'm so used to the indigestion, but tbh my body doesn't exactly like them. they're still hard to cut out, though, but it's something i would like to work on. i'm sure i'd also be able to enjoy plain low fat yoghurt, but anyway, this still got me wondering about the fat percentage of choice.

lower fat products are lower in calories, obviously, but i'm not sure if the swap to higher fat dairy would have a huge impact on my total caloric consumption in a day....i'd probably find ways to balance this out, although protein might be slightly lower overall, then? maybe not concerningly low, but a little bit?

or maybe there are other concerns to be had with 3.5% yoghurt that i'm not even aware of? for example saturated vs unsaturated fats?

Edited 4 hours ago by Judy2

[Natasha Tori Maru]

I strongly dislike low fat variants of dairy.

I avoid low fat varieties as they usually add a lot of sugar or emulsifiers to add back flavour and texture.

In addition, I am lactose intolerant. Although I can tolerate small amounts. Low fat varieties of fairy typically have greater lactose sugars, so they make my digestion much worse.

As a result of the nicer texture and mouth-feel of higher fat dairy, I tend to naturally eat less and feel satisfied quicker. Your milage may vary, as some people do not have a good ability to connect with their bodies and intuitively eat. For some, if they followed their intuitive cravings, that would be donuts and ice-cream all day 

Overall I find higher added fats in my diet = better hormones = better mood = more even energy = movement / joints feel better.

I don't care about the added calories as they are so miniscule.

[Judy2]

@Natasha Tori Maru yes, that's why i specified that even if i buy low fat, i buy it plain and without added sugar....only to add my own sucralose nightmare to it lol.

i've also checked the labels yesterday and was surprised that when comparing plain(!) yoghurt, the higher fat varieties have less (milk) sugar. never thought about that before. 

do you eat a lot of dairy in general? 

[Natasha Tori Maru]

1 hour ago, Judy2 said:

@Natasha Tori Maru yes, that's why i specified that even if i buy low fat, i buy it plain and without added sugar....only to add my own sucralose nightmare to it lol.

Ohhhh wow - total facepalm! My bad, I got interrupted twice at work while replying you 🤣 scrambled my eggs. Sorry about that

You add sucralose - is that a sweetener? I tend to avoid artificial sweeteners, but that is because unique to my physiology, I tend to get hungrier and get the urge to eat after meals. Only artificial sweetener does this to me. 

I eat very minimal dairy, some yoghurt, cottage cheese and ricotta. A small portion a dairy in the afternoons. Some lactose free milk (a dash) in my coffee in the morning as well. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Natasha Tori Maru

[PsychedelicEagle]

3 hours ago, Judy2 said:

healthy fats from nuts and high-quality oils

Good. The essential fats are Omega-3 and Omega-6s. I would thus ensure most of your fat falls within the polyunsaturated category, or even track the absolute amounts directly, especially if you're eating very-low fat overall, to ensure you're not getting too little of these essential fatty acids.

3 hours ago, Judy2 said:

swapping the dairy for higher fat varieties would be a good call

It depends on your goal — what is it? For CVD risk, saturated fat is clearly bad — thinking of long-term health. If you just want to increase caloric intake, then (any) type of fat would work, yes.

This video is quite good, and unbiased: 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by PsychedelicEagle