Heart health and dairy fat are linked in a very good way.

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August 12, 2022

Have you heard the myth in our culture that all fat is bad fat?

This nutritional ideology seems to have started in the 1950s and has been perpetuated ever since. The idea is that the more fat you eat, the more cholesterol you have, and the lower your heart health.

The history of the lipid hypothesis is huge. If you’d like to learn more, I highly recommend reading “The Skinny on Fats” by Sally Fallon.

**The reality is that all fat is not automatically bad. It depends on the type of fat.**

Heart disease is fairly new in human history. It basically didn’t exist before the 1920s. And now, heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States. Wow!

So… let’s see. What food changes have happened since the early 1900s? Hydrogenated vegetable shortenings like Crisco, fake butter like margarine, oil extraction with heat and chemicals, homogenization of milk, etc.

Humans learned to modify fats in an effort to make food cheaper, more shelf stable, and more consistent. Mission accomplished. But, it seems that these technological food inventions may have had a negative impact on our overall health.

**New research shows that people who eat dairy fats - milk, yogurt, butter, cheese - are less likely to develop heart disease.**

The study looked at the link between fat intake, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality in 4,150 older Swedish adults over a span of 16 years. It specifically measured “serum pentadecanoic acid”, a biomarker of dairy fat intake.

In addition to their own findings, the researchers also did a meta-analysis with 18 other studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. All were aligned.

The study found a linear relationship between dairy intake and cardiovascular health. Basically, the more dairy fat someone ate, the better their heart health.

Although the findings don’t necessarily show that dairy fats protect against cardiovascular problems, it does show that the longstanding myth that dairy is harmful to your heart health is just wrong.

This just makes logical sense. I mean, milk is the first food a human eats. And, humans have been consuming dairy from other animals for at least 6,000 years.

You cannot deny that dairy is delicious. There’s just something special about a cold glass of milk, a heaping amount of cream in your coffee or tea, a bowl of yogurt topped with maple syrup, butter slathered on bread or veggies… and cheese. I mean, isn’t cheese just amazing!?

Miller’s Bio Farm goes a few steps further with its dairy. It’s our goal to produce the most nutrient-dense, most digestible, most delicious products possible.

Our dairy is always:

Regeneratively farmed
100% A2/A2 (proven with genetic tests)
Whole cream
Non-homogenized
Minimally processed
No Chemicals, Antibiotics, Hormones, or GMOs
100% grass-fed cows, 100% grass-fed water buffalo, and goats have free choice between pasture/hay and organic soy-free feed
From humanely raised animals living on pasture

Do you eat dairy? Have you been on a low-fat diet or high-fat diet? What have you noticed about your body and its relationship with dairy and fat?

I’d love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - start typing to post as a guest) or contact us.

Health and Nutrition

Raw Dairy

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

How did pork get a bad rep anyway? Why is Miller's pork exceptional?

Did you know that, globally, pork is the #1 meat? According to the UN, 10% more pork is eaten compared to poultry worldwide. And, 50% more pork is eaten compared to beef worldwide. Wow! But, for some reason, this isn't the case in the US. According to the USDA, pork ranks #3 when it comes to meat. Americans eat 30% less pork compared to poultry and 15% less compared to beef. Why is this? Well, pork has gotten a pretty bad rep in the US. Of course there are some religions that prohibit pork, but that's not the leading factor. Some reasons why pork has a bad rep. 1- Too much saturated fat. The low fat craze started in the 1970s and fizzled out in the 1990s. It came from the belief that (1) fat makes us fat; and (2) that too much saturated fat = high cholesterol = bad things like heart disease and cholesterol. These myths have been debunked. Read more in fats and health blog post. The bottom line is that not all fats are created equal. Natural animal fats from happy, healthy animals are good. It's those highly processed hydrogenated saturated fats that are bad. In other words, eat all the pork fat! 2- Worry about disease. People still seem to think they can get sick from pork. There's fear of parasites (like the roundworm Trichinella spiralis that can cause trichinosis) or bacteria or other things. The reality is that getting sick from pork is really rare nowadays. If you cook pork properly, you don't need to worry about disease. Muscle meat (like chops or tenderloin) should be cooked to 145F. Ground meat and organs should be cooked to 160F. 3- Worry of bad ingredients. This only relates to processed pork like hot dogs and bacon and ham. There's truth to this one. Nitrates and nitrites, commonly used in curing conventional pork, have been shown to cause cancer and other health issues. And stabilizers, artificial colors, preservatives, and other additives have been linked to negative health outcomes, too. But, this isn't the case for all pork. How meat it's processed matters a lot. At Miller's, we don't put any of that yucky junk in our meat, even the salami and bacon and sausages (more on that below). 4- Worry that eating pork will have a negative affect on your blood. The Weston A. Price Foundation did a bunch of research on this. It's true that plain pork can cause blood clotting and inflammation. However, properly preparing pork (by marinating it in vinegar or naturally curing it) or by eating pork with fermented veggies like sauerkraut removes these negative effects. Read more about pork and your blood in this blog post. 5- The belief that pigs are "dirty". I think this one mainly comes from the fact that pigs roll around in mud. They do this to protect their nearly hairless bodies. It's like natural sunscreen. It doesn't mean the meat is dirty at all. It may also come from the fact that pigs are often treated as garbage disposals. They will literally eat anything. And that includes kitchen scraps, meat processing scraps, curdled milk, and more. But again, not all pork is created equal. When you source from trusted farms, you can actually know that the pigs are eating clean food and are rolling around in chemical-free mud. 6- Strange rumors that pigs are deformed. This one came from Nailea on the farm. At some point, she watched a video about how some pigs are born without buttholes or have odd deformities or become cancerous. Yet, despite their weirdness, they're still raised for meat. I don't know how true this is for conventional pigs. But, it's certainly not true for our pigs. They are intact and happy and healthy. And our processor would never give us meat that's weird or cancerous. Why you should eat pork. I'm here to inform you that, when produced naturally and properly, pork is pretty awesome. It's high in protein, zinc, iron, and B vitamins (particularly the "anti-stress" vitamin B1 - read more about thiamine and pork in this blog post). It's packed with quality, healthy saturated fats. And it's the most affordable meat and can be produced year round. This is why people around the world love pork. I think you should love pork, too! Miller's pork is not just any old pork. Here are 6 quick reasons it stands above the rest: 1- Woodland raised. Our pigs get plenty of exercise and forage for countless nuts and grubs and roots. This diverse diet gives our pork some extra flavor. And you can be assured that the environment is free of chemicals and is a happy place for our pigs to live. 2- Corn & soy free. This means low PUFA and no chance of GMOs. We haven't tested our pork like we did for our chicken and eggs. But, if we did, I assume we'd get similar results with our pork having balanced omegas and packed with vitamins and minerals. 3- Heritage breeds. Our pigs are Berkshire, Duroc, Red Waddle, and Black crosses. These heritage breeds are known for their intensity of flavor, juiciness, marbling, and tenderness. It's nothing like the bland, dry pork you often get at the grocery store. 4- No junk like nitrates or additives. We reduce toxins and anything unnatural as much as possible. Our bacon is cured simply with Celtic sea salt (in a store it would have "uncured" on the label). Our sausages have clean ingredients, no weird thickeners or preservatives. Our salami is cured naturally with celery juice powder. 5- Washed in organic apple cider vinegar. No harsh chemicals like bleach or citric and lactic acids touch our pork. We are so fortunate to have a naturally minded processor! 6- No drugs. We don't vaccinate. We don't give antibiotics or hormones or anything like that. Through a natural diet and lifestyle, our pigs stay naturally healthy. Do you eat pork? Why or why not? What do you look for when shopping for pork? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below - no account required (start typing for the guest option to appear). 😊 ----- SOURCES: UN Report: Livestock commoditiesUSDA: Chicken leads U.S. per person availability of meat over last decade False Facts About Pork Everyone Actually BelievesIs Pork Bad for You? Here's What a Dietitian Has to Say

Heart health and dairy fat are linked in a very good way.

Have you heard the myth in our culture that all fat is bad fat?

**The reality is that all fat is not automatically bad. It depends on the type of fat.**

**New research shows that people who eat dairy fats - milk, yogurt, butter, cheese - are less likely to develop heart disease.**

Although the findings don’t necessarily show that dairy fats protect against cardiovascular problems, it does show that the longstanding myth that dairy is harmful to your heart health is just wrong.

Miller’s Bio Farm goes a few steps further with its dairy. It’s our goal to produce the most nutrient-dense, most digestible, most delicious products possible.

Do you eat dairy? Have you been on a low-fat diet or high-fat diet? What have you noticed about your body and its relationship with dairy and fat?

More from the blog

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

How did pork get a bad rep anyway? Why is Miller's pork exceptional?

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566