SHAPE UP
Got milk? Maybe you should skip more dairy fats

By Charles Stuart Platkin

I was impressed with the "Got milk?" campaign. But now the dairy industry is touting milk to help you lose weight, and using television's Dr. Phil McGraw in its ads.

The calcium in cheese is good for you, but it comes with lots of saturated fats and calories. Advertiser library photo

"When we cut dairy products, it sends the body a signal to make more fat," says Zemel. How? When your body is deprived of calcium, it "produces higher levels of the hormone calcitriol, which triggers an increased production of fat cells," explains Zemel.

But, bear in mind, there is a "plateau effect with calcium and weight loss after your necessary dose of about 1000 milligrams per day," says Zemel.

And you can't simply add dairy products to your diet. If you do, you'll gain weight. You need to replace "empty" calories with dairy products to get the weight-loss effect.

Don't run out for ice cream just yet. Dairy products — including whole milk, ice cream, butter, and especially cheese — are the biggest sources of saturated fat in our diet.

"Most people think of dairy as healthful, but it's a dangerous trap," says Margo Wootan, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. According to CSPI, one cup of whole milk has 5 grams of artery-clogging saturated fat, the same amount found in one hot dog, five strips of bacon, a Snickers bar, or a fast-food hamburger, and as many calories as a 12-ounce can of soda.

"Yes, dairy is rich in calcium but it has a high nutritional price tag," continues Wootan. And since heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, "anything we can do to reduce intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, such as cutting back on cheese and even milk, would lessen the risk of heart disease."

Cheese gives us more saturated fat than any other food, including beef. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American eats 30 pounds of cheese a year, compared to 11 pounds in 1970.

"Only one ounce of full-fat cheese can have as much as 6 grams of artery-clogging fat — about a third of a day's worth," said Wootan. "And an ounce isn't much — just 11/2 slices of processed cheese, or a cube of cheddar, or the cheese on a slice of a large pizza."

"Cheese, even low-fat cheese, should be considered a splurge food — like cookies," says Wootan.

Butter is full of saturated fat (roughly 7 grams) and has 100 calories in only one tablespoon. Since most of us use about three tablespoons on our morning muffins, that's about 300 calories — an entire day's worth of saturated fat.

If you switch to light margarine, you save about half the calories and lose almost all the saturated fat. The tricky part is making sure you're not trading for the equally unhealthy trans fat found in many margarines. So look for "trans fat free" on the package.

In the United States, nine out of 10 women and seven out of 10 men don't get their daily requirements for calcium. But, Wootan says, "people would be better off getting their calcium from foods like fat-free (skim) or 1 percent milk, low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, or calcium-fortified orange juice."

Whole (3.3 percent fat) and reduced-fat (2 percent) make up 75 percent of the milk we consume. Each glass of skim milk you drink instead of whole milk saves you 5 grams of saturated fat (a quarter of a day's worth) and about 30 calories (with comparable calcium).

There are other nondairy sources of calcium. If you're already drinking OJ every morning, switch to calcium-fortified. Add kale (90-100 mg per 1/2 cup cooked), broccoli (120 mg for 2 cups), or turnip greens (100-125 mg per 1/2 cup, cooked) to your salads and side dishes, or non-fat soymilk fortified with calcium. Then there are calcium supplements: see www.consumerlabs.com for the latest research.

Bottom line: You can't simply add dairy or calcium to your diet and lose weight without cutting calories — there's no magic bullet.

Contact Charles Stuart Platkin at info@thedietdetective.com.