Professor and Chair The Ohio State University Columbus, OH, United States
Abstract: A substantial proportion of the global population has poor cardiometabolic health, which is evidenced by the high prevalence rates of interrelated cardiometabolic disorders including obesity, (pre)diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The benefits of specific fat-containing bovine dairy foods (i.e., milk, cheese yogurt), especially in relation to cardiometabolic health, have been marked by controversy for decades, which thwarts an ability to establish evidence-based dietary recommendations. Outcomes of epidemiological studies examining the associations between the consumption of dairy foods and cardiometabolic health have been equivocal with some supporting favorable outcomes whereas others suggest neutral or even unfavorable outcomes. This signals a modern-day challenge to uncover the independent health effects of dairy foods and their bioactive components as part of complex dietary patterns. In support, controlled studies in rodent models have established mechanistic insight that dairy fat, with likely attribution to its polar lipid-rich milk fat globule membrane fraction, alleviates cardiometabolic risk by promoting gut health, reducing inflammation, and managing dyslipidemia. Although randomized controlled trials have been conducted with the intent of advancing research translation in support of human health, relatively few have been conducted to examine the cardiometabolic benefits of fat-containing dairy foods and their putative bioactive components. This presentation will therefore: (1) discuss the controversy concerning the consumption of full-fat dairy food consumption on cardiometabolic complications; (2) define the composition and bioactivities of milk fat globule membrane and its polar lipids that are reported to improve gut barrier function, alleviate metabolic dysfunction, and enhance host health; and (3) identify scientific gaps that require attention to advance research translation. Understanding these challenges and achieving solutions are expected to help establish the framework for evidence-based dietary recommendations that can alleviate the risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders or reversing their progression toward causing premature death.
