UNTIL THE PAST six months, whole milk had been easy to buy; this country’s overwhelming preference has been skimmed or semi-skimmed. We’d never before competed for full-fat milk, full-fat yoghurt, or cheese; now, all three were in growing demand. According to Google Trends, searches for whole milk have grown sharply over the past 12 weeks.
The Health Benefits of Full-Fat Dairy
Over the past three months, whole milk sales have increased by 2 per cent compared with last year’s period—which may not sound like a big spike, but it represents millions more litres of whole milk. A third of people surveyed by Waitrose switched from eating a low-fat dairy product to a full-fat one in 2023, with the under-35s most likely to have made the change.
In the 1980s, everyone was afraid of low-fat, but if you’re buying fat-free milk, you are doing yourself an injustice. If it’s good quality dairy, what lives in the fat? Omega-3 fatty acids.
Milk from grass-fed cows is indeed rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins—but because these are fat-soluble, they are removed when the fat is skimmed off, and studies have failed to prove that low-fat dairy is better than full-fat dairy.
Changing Perceptions of Fat
Early studies showed that diets high in saturated fat, such as those found in dairy and meat, were linked to heart disease. Other types of fat, like polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, weren’t associated with health problems—but at that time, the powers that be decided people may not understand the difference between these types of fat, so they advised everyone to limit all fat.
Randomised trials and meta-analyses have repeatedly questioned the merits of a low-fat diet, but it is enshrined in American and British health guidance and our national psyche.
The Modern Shift in Dairy Consumption
Science shows that full-fat dairy doesn’t have the adverse effects on health we once thought.
Indeed, of the reasons cited in Waitrose’s survey for switching to full-fat products, the most common were flavour and concerns about hidden sugars in more processed fat foods. In the survey, where respondents could select all reasons that applied to them, 40 per cent cited flavour, 40 per cent were concerned about more processed alternatives, and 21 per cent said they were no longer counting calories, another health measure questioned in recent years.
A Protest Against Processed Foods
“For the past few years, the biggest trend has been alternatives to dairy milk such as soya or almond milk, which attracted not just vegan customers but those wanting a ‘healthier option’, but over the past year, we’ve noticed that more and more customers are choosing whole milk,” says Waitrose’s milk buyer Rachel Arlidge. “This change is driven by people becoming more focused on their gut health and looking to add more whole foods into their diets.”
Organic milk and dairy producer Yeo Valley agrees: It has found sales of low-fat and fat-free yoghurt are declining year on year, a trend that “reflects consumers’ growing recognition that minimally processed foods are more in line with the nutrients our bodies have spent thousands of years consuming,” says brand manager Beth Katuszka.
“Low-fat products tend to include a range of ingredients to compensate for the loss of flavour and texture once the fat is removed. These often include emulsifiers, sugars, starches and other artificial ingredients [which are] likely less healthy than the fats you’ve removed.
Rediscovering Flavor and Health
So why has the full-fat myth lingered for so many years? As early as 2005, food writer and author Jennifer McLagan wrote a book entitled Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, which detailed both the then little-known nutritional benefits of animal fat and its culinary benefits. “I thought I would change the world; instead, no one believed me,” she admits. “It is socially and culturally ingrained that people who eat fat get fat.”
Medical research is expensive, but more money is needed to promote whole foods, which are not modified to reduce the cost of production and offer minimal profit margins. As a result, studies supporting the “eat fat, get fat” argument have been more likely to get sponsorship and publicity than those critiquing it.
Taste Over Calorie Counting
We are health-conscious, perhaps more so than ever, but we still value taste. We’ve rediscovered that good flavour goes further, whether it’s milk, yoghurt, or artisan cheese, and that enjoying one’s food should not be a secondary function. It is good that the young and old are switching to full-fat foods. I hope the shops stock up.
