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Comparison of the impact of saturated fat from full-fat yogurt or low-fat yogurt and butter on cardiometabolic factors: a randomized cross-over trial

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Abstract

Purpose

Dairy foods are often a major contributor to dietary saturated fatty acids (SFA) intake. However, different SFA-rich foods may not have the same effects on cardiovascular risk factors. We compared full-fat yogurt with low-fat yogurt and butter for their effects on cardiometabolic risk factors in healthy individuals.

Methods

Randomized, two-period crossover trial conducted from October 2022 to April 2023 among 30 healthy men and women (15 to receive full-fat yogurt first, and 15 to receive low-fat yogurt and butter first). Participants consumed a diet with 1.5-2 servings of full-fat (4%) yogurt or low-fat (< 1.5) yogurt and 10–15 g of butter per day for 4 weeks, with 4 weeks wash-out when they consumed 1.5-2 servings of low-fat milk. At baseline, and the end of each 4 weeks, fasting blood samples were drawn and plasma lipids, glycemic and inflammatory markers as well as expression of some genes in the blood buffy coats fraction were determined.

Results

All 30 participants completed the two periods of the study. Apolipoprotein B was higher for the low-fat yogurt and butter [changes from baseline, + 10.06 (95%CI 4.64 to 15.47)] compared with the full-fat yogurt [–4.27 (95%CI, -11.78 to 3.23)] and the difference between two treatment periods was statistically significant (p = 0.004). Non-high-density lipoprotein increased for the low-fat yogurt and butter [change, + 5.06 (95%CI (-1.56 to 11.69) compared with the full-fat yogurt [change, − 4.90 (95%CI, -11.61 to 1.81), with no significant difference between two periods (p = 0.056). There were no between-period differences in other plasma lipid, insulin, and inflammatory biomarkers or leukocyte gene expression of ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 and CD36.

Conclusion

This study suggests that short-term intake of SFAs from full-fat yogurt compared to intake from butter and low-fat yogurt has fewer adverse effects on plasma lipid profile.

ClinicalTrials.gov

NCT05589350, 10/15/2022.

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Acknowledgements

This research would not have been possible without the contribution of Elaheh Tajeddin as a study research assistant. We thank Dr. Omid Rahnama and also Rahnama laboratory staff for providing the necessary laboratory facilities. Finally, the authors would like to thank the individuals who volunteered to participate in this trial.

Funding

This research is funded by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran (research project code: 32333).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O.19395-4741, Tehran, Iran

    Yegane Rajabpour Ranjbar & Javad Nasrollahzadeh

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  1. Yegane Rajabpour Ranjbar
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  2. Javad Nasrollahzadeh
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Contributions

JN designed the study; YR performed the selection of study volunteers and data collection; JN analyzed and interpreted data and wrote the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Javad Nasrollahzadeh.

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Ethics statement and consent for participants

This study was conducted by the Helsinki Declaration. All procedures were approved by the Ethics Committees of the National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, and informed consent was taken from the participants. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05589350).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Ranjbar, Y.R., Nasrollahzadeh, J. Comparison of the impact of saturated fat from full-fat yogurt or low-fat yogurt and butter on cardiometabolic factors: a randomized cross-over trial. Eur J Nutr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-024-03352-8

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