Counter Point - Positioning Dairy Fat in Dietary Recommendations on Cardiovascular Disease.

Dietary guidelines recommend the restriction of saturated fatty acids (SFA) intake to <10% of calories to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD). Different SFAs have different biologic effects, which are further modified by the food matrix and the carbohydrate content of the diet. Several foods relatively rich in SFAs, such as dairy are not unequivocally associated with increased CVD risk. An important question is how strong the evidence base is for a neutral association between dairy and CVD, and whether biological mechanisms and matrix effects support a neutral relationship. If the answer is positive, should dairy fat still be included in the current recommendations of ‘a maximum of 10 energy% from SFAs’. If the evidence base is not convincing, what research would be needed to reconsider the dietary recommendations? The outcome of a high-level expert workshop on “Saturated Fat in Dairy and Cardiovascular Diseases” held in Amsterdam, April 2024 will be discussed.