Research

Macro partitioning

High consumption of dairy products is associated with a less atherogenic lipid phenotype (higher HDL-C and TC, lower TG) compared to high consumption of meat products, which is associated with atherogenic dyslipidemia (lower HDL-C, higher TG).

If you have high cholesterol, don't just cut all saturated fats. Focus on reducing meat intake, as high meat consumption is linked to worse lipid profiles (lower HDL, higher TG). Moderate dairy consumption may be acceptable or even beneficial for your lipid profile compared to meat.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
The high intake of dairy products was associated with less atherogenic hyperlipidemia, which was characterized by higher levels of TC and HDL-C as compared withs the intake of an excessive amount of meat products, which was associated with higher levels of TC and TG and lower levels of HDL-C.
Elena Formisano et al. · Nutrients · 2021

Why this rating

The study is a preliminary retrospective analysis with a small sample size (n=106) and potential recall bias, limiting causal inference.

Source

Effects of a Mediterranean Diet, Dairy, and Meat Products on Different Phenotypes of Dyslipidemia: A Preliminary Retrospective Analysis

Elena Formisano et al. · Nutrients · 2021

DOI 10.3390/nu13041161

cross_sectional · n=106Cited 19×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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