Episode 41 – Whole Milk’s Comeback: What Checkoff-Led Science Reveals

Discover the Latest Milk Fat Research on Whole Milk and Dairy Foods

 DMI’s Dr. Chris Cifelli, Senior Vice President of Nutrition Research at National Dairy Council, speaks with DMI’s Scott Wallin about how the checkoff is expanding the body of science around whole milk, cheese, and yogurt.

With more than 80 studies conducted over the last 20 years, the milk fat research shows that these foods not only help support childhood growth but may also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and fit into heart-healthy diets.

Cifelli explains how the unique makeup of dairy fat—especially components like oleic acid—plays a vital role in supporting better health. He also underscores the need to translate this science into clear messages for both consumers and health professionals and how the checkoff constantly shares these messages with nutrition professionals.

Looking ahead, his research team will continue to explore how dairy contributes to lowering cardiometabolic disease risk and the benefits of dairy’s unique fatty acids.

To learn more about the national dairy checkoff and your local dairy checkoffs, please visit dairycheckoff.com.

Host & Guest:

• Host: Scott Wallin, Vice President of Farmer Communications & Media Relations, Dairy Management Inc.
• Guest: Dr. Chris Cifelli, Senior Vice President of Nutrition Research, Dairy Management Inc.

Transcript (AI-Generated, please ignore typos)

Your Dairy Checkoff Podcast   0:02  

welcome to your dairy check off podcast from dairy management Inc, where dairy check off leaders and farmers share real stories, strategies and insights that grow sales and build trust for us dairy, let's get started.

Scott Wallin   0:18  

Hey everybody, and welcome to another edition of the your dairy check off podcast. I'm Scott Wallen with dairy management Incorporated, and today we have one of those subjects that we know dairy farmers and people across the industry are interested in, and that is whole milk and whole milk dairy foods research. And we got the guy who's going to lay it all out for us, Dr, Chris saffelli. He is Senior Vice President of Nutrition Research for National Dairy Council. Chris, welcome to the podcast. How are you today? I'm good, Scott, thanks for having me today. Well, absolutely you know you and I have talked so much, and we've worked for dairy farmers for so many years, and we know that this subject is top of mind for so many of them, and you've got such a great way of telling the story of how, you know, we've been in this space of research on whole milk and whole milk dairy foods for a lot of years. There's a there's a great story to tell, and we're going to get into all those details here in just a minute. But before we get into the questions, how about we just start with a little bit of background about you, and what is your research colleagues, you and your research colleagues do for National Dairy Council? Yeah, I've had the privilege of working for dairy farmers for 17 and a half years. You know, it's been a wonderful experience. And not just myself, but Michelle slim, co Moises, Torres, Gonzalez, Matt pekoske, we've all been at DMI National Dairy Council for 10 plus years. So there's a wealth of experience on our team. Our newest member, Kristen Rickles Johnson, has been there just over three and a half years, and she leads our childhood health team. And then we have the glue that kind of holds us all together, Agnes kuzmika, who's been there over 20 years, and she's, you know, makes she helps us with our visuals and our slides when we're trying to translate this complex science to consumers. So, you know, it's a strength. It's a huge strength for the farmers that we have this experience and expertise in protein, full fat dairy, childhood health, emerging bioactives, you know? So it's, it's a testament to them and their commitment to nutrition research, that we can have this kind of dream team together. National Dairy Council is amazing that you go back over a century, you know, farmers founded in DC, over a century ago, and it's amazing that through all these years, it's built up this fantastic reputation with health and wellness professionals, you know, across the country, you guys, obviously, you're, you know, you talked about some of the research that you, that you your team focuses on, but let's dive a little bit deeper into some of those priority areas that you guys have worked on. I consider myself lucky. And the team, you know, we are the torch bearers for National Dairy Council right now, as you, as you mentioned, I have over 100 years of Nutrition Research and Education legacy, you know, founded by their vision to understand how vitamin D could impact bone health, you know. And that was really the start of it. And here we are, all these years later, and while we still look at things like bone health and cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes, it's really exciting time as we think about how nutrition, and in particular dairy foods, can impact things like mental and emotional, well being, stress and anxiety, your gut health, immunity, inflammation. So we have a lot of exciting research going on. If I had to simplify it, I'd say we have one core bucket where we're looking at things that are more chronic disease risk, so blood pressure, type two diabetes, and then this new innovation under Paul ziminsky leadership, where we're trying to unravel these new health and wellness benefits to meet the consumers demands. And that is such a cool aspect of what you guys do, is to stay contemporary and to meet those consumer needs. So that's that's an exciting part to watch what you're doing in those spaces. But as we said earlier, we're here today to talk about whole milk and whole milk dairy foods research. Let's dive in a little bit deeper into that. Talk about what's going on in that space. And I know it has been for some years in our office in Rosemont, on one of the walls there is a framed picture of the first page of an article, and I think it's from the 1960s or 70s, where they're talking about whole milk dairy foods and the unique fatty acids that are found there, and how it's different from other sources of saturated fat. So this has been at our core for 60 plus years. In fact, in the in the, you know, 17 plus years I've been there, we have funded and completed over 80 research studies on whole milk dairy foods, and that's milk cheese and yogurt in particular, and their impact on mostly cardiovascular health. But as I mentioned, we're starting now to branch out into some of these new, emerging health and wellness space. And the good news, the evidence continues to show that those foods, whole milk, whole milk yogurts, full fat cheeses.

Chris Cifelli   5:00  

They can fit into healthy, heart healthy eating patterns. They can help reduce type two diabetes risk. They support childhood growth and development. You know, all the evidence points in that direction to support the role of those in healthy eating patterns. You know, one of the things you've been able to educate a non science guy like me is just the uniqueness of the dairy fat in the whole milk, in whole milk dairy foods. Can you just talk a little bit more about what makes that fat so unique and special? I mentioned Moises earlier. He's led our full fat dairy research for the last 10 years, and he lives and breathes this stuff, and he educated me on a lot of this stuff. There's over 400 different types of fats that comprise dairy fat. I mean, when you think of where people tend to think of full fat dairy products, they think of the saturated fat that's in it. Well, it actually has the 20% of the fat in there is a fatty acid called oleic acid. It's actually the primary fat in an olive oil, you know. So it's not just saturated fat. It has a mix of saturated fat, the mono unsaturated fats and the polyunsaturated fats that all make it unique, because it isn't just one. And then you have these different types of, like I said, the 400 different types that that separated from other food sources, and then how it's packaged

Chris Cifelli   6:17  

in this milk fat globular membrane, which is, you know, this kind of unique combination of packaging and proteins that allow our body to absorb the fat, but then, as as the saturated fat and the polyunsaturates get in, they don't have that same effect on, say, LDL, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease that you would think from just looking at the, you know, the amounts of fats in there, and It's because of the way that the body sees the milk fat. Globular membrane processes it and and kind of delivers it. You can think of it like a like an Amazon package. You know, you have the goods, the healthy stuff. All the stuff is inside that package, and it's delivered in a way that allows you to kind of get it in but not have any negative effects on the body.

Scott Wallin   6:59  

You know, our CEO, Barb O'Brien, talks a lot about a dairy Renaissance, you know, and that people are really turning back to natural dairy and whole fat, you know, whole fat dairy and milk are part of that equation, and we're seeing sales grow in that part of the category. Do you feel like all the research that NDC has done over the years has had an impact in that are we helping to grow sales through what we've done scientifically?

Chris Cifelli   7:29  

Oh, absolutely. I mean, there's not a doubt in my mind that the foundation of research, you know, I mentioned the 80 plus studies in the last 17 to 20 years, but even going back before that, research was being conducted and published and shared with scientists, and I think that's the key thing, you know, we don't just do science for science sake. You know, we're all, everybody on the team is PhD scientists. We're all, you know, integrity, and we do the science the right way, and we're transparent, and we have external advisors who help us kind of review research proposals, but when it's done, a key aspect of what we do Scott is that translation, translation to other scientists. We work with Katie Brown, who I'm sure you've had on here before, who, you know, she takes it then to health professionals, and we also translate it for consumers, because it's important we get that science out there. So back to your question, yes, by translating the science, helping people see that it's it's not, it's not having a negative impact on cardiovascular disease or blood pressure, and in fact, maybe helping that. You know, I think people were starting to feel open at the end of the day. Consumers want to feel empowered. They want to they want their health in their own hands. They don't. I think we're seeing in the trends that they don't want to be told what not to eat. They want to be told what they can eat and how they can feel good about that eating. And so this science has given them that reason to believe, and that's why you're seeing things like butter and whole milk and cheese. Those sales go up on the consumer side, because they're going, they're seeing that those foods they grew up with are, in fact, healthy, and they can kind of go back to them. So

Scott Wallin   9:05  

I know you touched on the work that Katie Brown, president of National Dairy Council, leads, and there's a lot of outreach that she does, you know, to health and well, her peers, her health and wellness professionals. But I know you and Moises and the rest of rest of the team you guys get into other areas you know, researchers and scientists around the country. Do you talk with them a lot about this research in this in this specific area,

Chris Cifelli   9:30  

almost daily. Yes, one of the key aspects of our role and our job at National Dairy Council is to communicate the science to other scientists, whether that be at major meetings like the American Society for Nutrition annual meeting, or when we go visit different universities around the country and give presentations to their faculty and their students, we're always talking about the role of whole milk dairy foods on health and wellness, you know. And I think that last part is really important. Scott, if I you know that, you know not that American Society of nutrition is not important. But you know, I think we've understood that the next generation of scientists, those younger students who are getting their their doctorate degrees now in nutrition, or maybe becoming dietitian, we have to kind of reach out to them and help educate them on the health and wellness benefits, or how full fat dairy foods can fit into healthy eating patterns, and that's a key aspect of what we do when we go to universities and meet with students and postdocs and help them kind of understand that they can think about dairy differently. So when

Scott Wallin   10:34  

you walk into those rooms, what's the reception and the perception people have of National Dairy Council? Are we pretty well received in those spaces.

Chris Cifelli   10:41  

We have a great reputation externally. Again, it's a it's a testament to the farmers commitment to research and how we do the research in a transparent manner. You know, everything that we fund is published in peer reviewed journals, and National Dairy Council has been around, as I mentioned, for over 100 years. I was thinking, you ask it a slightly different way. Scott, you know, when I first started at National Dairy Council, and I would give talks, and I would include things on full fat dairy and blood pressure, I'd say the reception was more lukewarm. You know, you're talking 2008 2009 I think now you see more head nods, more more understanding that you can, you know, weave these foods into healthy eating patterns. That, you know, that I think you're slowly seeing a shift in consumer but also just scientific perception on these things. You know, there's a professor out of Tufts University, Darius Meyers Aryan. He's a medical doctor researcher, and he's done a lot of work on nutrition. You know, earlier this year, he had a great article on on this exact topic, and how, you know, whole milk, dairy foods should be looked at revisited, I think, was the term, so that people can, you know, eat more healthy foods and have healthier lives. Man,

Scott Wallin   11:58  

it's great to get those third party endorsements for what we're doing, and especially in that whole milk space. So you laid out a lot of the history of things we've done. I know you and your team are not ones to rest on your laurels and history. So what's what can you talk about, as far as what's in the pipeline for a whole milk and whole milk dairy foods research

Chris Cifelli   12:20  

a lot. It's exciting. You know, I think Paul's challenged us to be, I'll say Be a little more offensive with our research to, you know, just not just say that and do studies that show that dairy foods, whether you're talking low fat, or fat free or whole milk, dairy foods are don't contribute to disease, but they actually can be wellness solutions. So, you know, our research in this area is focused, really in two pillars. You know, again, we have to continue to do research to show that whole milk and cheese and full fat yogurt can play a role in cardiometabolic disease risk reduction. You know, CVD, cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity is a major problem, you know. So under, you know, ensuring that we have up to date research using novel techniques, you know, allows us to continue to communicate these benefits, conversely, or at the same time, is, is, you know, kind of like this offensive assault, and that's taking a couple trajectories. The first is looking at some of these unique fatty acids or unique bioactives that are found in full fat dairy foods. So these are things like branched chain fatty acids or the milk fat coabural membrane itself, and understanding how these unique things can impact gut health, can impact immunity, can impact satiety and mental and emotional health. Another area we're looking at is, you know this, people are a lot of people are on a weight journey. You know, they're using medications now that are becoming more and more prevalent. And and, you know, as they take appetite suppressants, you know, getting nutritious foods is even more paramount. So, you know, dairy foods, whole milk dairy foods, you know, can play two roles. They can support your health and wellness as you're on those drugs, as you're losing weight, because you don't want to lose bone and you don't want to lose muscle, you know, as well, so the protein and calcium and all that stuff can support it. But we also know people aren't going to stay on some of these drugs forever. And so how do you help them stay once they reach whatever desired body weight they want to be at, how do you help them stay there and cheese, you know, full fat cheese, full fat yogurt, whole milk, they not only make you feel full, they don't give you, not only give you that satiety effect as you consume them, but they also helps make you stay satiated between meals. So maybe you eat a little less, you consume a few less calories, and you can help keep you know, the weight off that you got through that pharmaceutical intervention. So

Scott Wallin   14:57  

awesome, hearing that the works continue. In this space, we're going to get you out of here with one final question. So is there one overriding takeaway message you want dairy farmers to know from this conversation?

Chris Cifelli   15:09  

I'll go more than one, if that's okay. First, I, you know, take the opportunity to thank them for their support of our research program and of National Dairy Council. I mean, we the, you know, we publish, on average, about 25 studies a year. We do. We fund probably 30 to 40 research studies per year, and all this to support dairy's health and wellness benefits. And as you mentioned, not just you know, the ones that we're most familiar with, but these emerging ones that we see coming down the pike and are really impacting, say, the younger generations. So first, a huge thank you for your support. I think the second takeaway, and I know we are focused a lot on whole milk dairy foods today, and rightfully so, is, you know, as I tell people when I when I present or talk, or even if I'm on the phone with my parents, about, you know, nutrition and stuff is, there is a dairy food for everyone. I mean, dairy is so amazing. Milk, you know, all milk, whole milk, low fat, reduced fat. They all have the same, good, excellent source of 13 essential nutrients, yogurt, you know, you have Greek yogurt. You have, you know, non Greek yogurts. They all have the same live and active cultures. They stay, you know, similar bioactives. They all support metabolic health. Well, you know your fermented cheeses, you have lactose free milks too. You know, only milk can go from milk to all this other stuff. And I'm not even talking about buttermilk and cottage cheese and whey and casein and all that other stuff. I mean, it is just, we are just really at the tip of the iceberg with how each of these dairy products really can be a solution, a health and wellness solution, to each individual person, depending on their wants, desires, needs, age, whatever we have the answer for you and our research will continue to kind of bear that

Scott Wallin   16:57  

out. Love hearing that your passion for this area is so evident, and also for our farmers, and you're absolutely right, they make all this happen, and they've been doing it for a long time. So Chris, awesome conversation. Thank you so much for your time today.

Chris Cifelli   17:11  

Thanks Scott. Thanks for having

Your Dairy Checkoff Podcast   17:15  

me. Thanks for listening to your dairy check off podcast. Want to hear more about how your check off is making every drop count, head over to dairycheck off.com or follow us wherever you get your podcasts. See you next time you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai