Why those who eat lowfat are at significantly higher risk for stomach bugs, food poisoning and gastrointestinal disease, and how a specific fatty acid in dairy powerfully inhibits intestinal pathogens.
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to catch every single stomach bug that passes through the community while others seem completely immune?
How about the curious fact that some people get food poisoning all the time while others rarely succumb even if they ate the identical dish at the same restaurant?
It may not just be bad luck if it seems that you’re getting more than your fair share of stomach bugs.
Food Selection Impacts Gastrointestinal Risk
While “eating organic” is great, it actually doesn’t offer much protection against intestinal pathogens.
Folks who rarely eat processed foods and take great pains to make their own meals from scratch can still be plagued with more than their fair share of stomach bug woes.
Why is this?
I used to ponder this very question as to why I kept catching so many tummy bugs despite eating everything organic in my twenties.
While important, it appears that food quality is not necessarily the best way to prevent gastrointestinal illness.
Could it be the composition of the foods that we eat is a major contributory factor in the frequency of intestinal illness?
For example, is it possible that a very simple change such as increasing the amount of butterfat in the diet could actually be of benefit in avoiding gastroenteritis?
Milk Fat Protects the Gut from Pathogens
Glycosphingolipids are a special type of lipid found in bovine milk fat.
Sources include butter, cream, whole milk, whole yogurt, kefir, ghee, and cheese.
These foods offer protection against gastroenteritis because they include anti-pathogenic fatty acids.
Children who drink lowfat or skim milk suffer from acute gastrointestinal illness at a rate 3-4 times higher than children who drink whole milk. (1)
This is an incredibly significant difference!
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation:
Glycosphingolipids are lipids with single sugar molecules attached found in cell membranes, especially in the brain. They also protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially in infants and children. (2)
According to in vitro studies of milk fat, glycosphingolipids are not only protective against pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella and listeria but also against viruses and fungi as well. (3)
Taking a therapeutic quality probiotic every day is also highly protective.
Whole Dairy is Best
I experienced this same effect even as an adult.
Once I switched to whole milk products and butter and away from butter substitutes and lowfat dairy, my tendency to succumb to stomach flu vanished.
In fact, in my household, no one has had a tummy bug or gastrointestinal illness of any kind in many years!
This is not to say that consuming plenty of milkfat in the diet will guarantee complete avoidance of gastroenteritis. It will, however, significantly increase your resistance to it.
In essence, butterfat is a functional food in that it works as a broad spectrum anti-microbial agent in the gut.
What About all that Butterfat?
Concerned that all that butterfat might be bad for your health? Take heart (literally)… it’s all a myth!
Unfortunately, it’s taking decades for the public to finally awaken to the fact that those who eat butter and drink whole milk have HALF the heart attack risk as those who drink lowfat milk and eat margarine. (4)
This study followed 5,000 men between the ages of 45 and 59 for 10 years.
Of those who drank at least a pint of whole milk a day and ate butter, there was only a 1% risk for a heart attack!
What do heart doctors say?
This prominent cardiologist’s opinion of a lowfat diet is that it is “scientifically and morally indefensible”.
In summary, then, it’s not just any milk that does a body good, It’s whole milk!
(1) Milk fat and gastrointestinal illness
(2) Digestion and absorption of food fats
(3) Bactericidal Activities of Milk Lipids
(4) Milk Decreases Heart Attacks
More Information
I have noticed that almost all the families, not originally from the US, that I see shopping at our Costco, are buying whole milk. Americans typically only buy it for babies second year.
Okay, so WHAT are we parents who have children who are allergic to milk supposed to do. My son, who is allergic to cow’s milk, soy milk, goat’s milk, and gluten, has a TERRIBLE time with stomach bugs. He catches every one that comes along, and it often lasts for close to a week. He drinks coconut milk, because that is the highest fat alternative to cow’s milk. We also give probiotics to try to help his digestive system. Unfortunately, he is very limited as to what he can even eat, and has lots of texture sensitivities (gags easily). Not a whole lot we can do. 🙁
Have you looked into the GAPS diet? It sounds like his gut is in very poor shape and needs to be healed. We’ve been doing GAPS for several months and have seen positive changes in everyone. http://www.gapsdiet.com
Ange, I had terrible reflux before we switched to raw whole milk from skim store milk in January. I have not had reflux in MONTHS.
This is the exact reason we purchased our first dairy goat. For the past five years nearly all g.i. Issues have cleared up in the family.
I was raised in the ’80’s and I had non fat and margarine..it was during the high cholesterol fears and my parents were trying to be healthy. By the age of 20.. I had horrible stomach problems.. Now in my late 30’s I have a severe intolerance to wheat and cow milk, which I passed onto my daughter. It’s very true!!
Already do. Whole milk, and NO more low fat/no fat dairy all together. Now if I could only get raw…
Yes. We made the switch to whole fat milk , butter and cheese this year and feel better for it. We hope to go raw milk soon!
I’m hoping that full-fat homemade coconut milk will do the trick. Our whole family is allergic to milk (even raw, grassfed organic jersey and goat milk ) 🙁
I have my kids drinking raw cream when I can get it.
Thank you for this info. =)