Research

Hormonal

Higher circulating levels of dairy fat biomarkers (plasma 15:0, 17:0, and t-16:1n-7) are associated with a significantly lower risk of incident type 2 diabetes.

Instead of avoiding all dairy fat, focus on consuming whole dairy sources like cheese and yogurt, which are associated with specific fatty acids (15:0, 17:0, t-16:1n-7) that correlate with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This suggests that the source and composition of fat matter more than simply avoiding saturated fat.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In pooled multivariate analyses adjusting for demographics, metabolic risk-factors, lifestyle, diet, and other circulating fatty acids, individuals with higher plasma 15:0 had 44% lower risk of diabetes... higher plasma 17:0, 43% lower risk... and higher t-16:1n-7, 52% lower risk.
Mohammad Yawar Yakoob et al. · Circulation · 2016

Why this rating

Large prospective cohorts (NHS and HPFS), long follow-up (mean 15.2 years), and rigorous adjustment for confounders, though observational design prevents causal proof.

Source

Circulating Biomarkers of Dairy Fat and Risk of Incident Diabetes Mellitus Among Men and Women in the United States in Two Large Prospective Cohorts

Mohammad Yawar Yakoob et al. · Circulation · 2016

DOI 10.1161/circulationaha.115.018410

cohort · n=3333Cited 138×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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