Nutritionists and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston set out to try and discover whether dairy foods in general had any effect of fertility on humans, as there was "pretty strong evidence" that an excess of lactose in animals could have a negative effect on the ability of females to conceive. Everyone was surprised to find that the same result was not found in humans. The records, taken from 1991-1999, of nearly 19,000 women from the ages of 24-42 were examined.
It turned out that they found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat/non-fat dairy foods and no whole fat dairy had an 85% higher risk of becoming infertile. Eating one serving of whole fat dairy per day significantly reduced the odds of developing infertility. The type of infertility most commonly found in this study was anovulatory, a failure to produce eggs. One possible reason for this result is that low fat dairy foods tend to have more lactose in them than full fat products, but scientists say that more research is needed before anything can firmly be concluded. And they do "not recommend that women trying to conceive use this as an excuse to eat "buckets and buckets of ice cream."
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-01-2007 @ 6:23PM
David said...
Just goes to show you ... making a blanket policy of avoiding fat is NOT good for you. Of course the best way to drink milk is the way nature intended: unpasteurized and unhomogenized. Whole or skim, commercial milk is dead food.
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3-01-2007 @ 6:28PM
calamari said...
I've always said that low-fat milk is poison.
On the other hand, here's one more incentive to cave on the husband's preference for low-fat milk, since kiddies are not on the agenda.
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3-02-2007 @ 3:09AM
Alex said...
And they do "not recommend that women trying to conceive use this as an excuse to eat "buckets and buckets of ice cream."
Wow. That's not patronising.
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3-02-2007 @ 8:14AM
Allison said...
Amen, David. I'm way past the fertility issue, but since I've been able to join a cowshare program and drink only whole raw milk -- the other benefits are amazing! Better health, sustained weight loss, more energy, much better digestion, and vastly improved comprehensive blood test scores in all sorts of significant areas. If you're still sceptical try this link: www.realmilk.com
Got real milk yet? Allison
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3-02-2007 @ 2:00PM
Vesna said...
Our moralistic culture has become so hysterical about dietary fat, it's no surprise that this article is slanted against normal fat content found in traditional whole foods.
Notice how, in the article, they jump right to ice cream references more than once. As if non-lowfat is the provence of gluttony, junk food and dessert.
The researcher makes a distinction between "low-fat" and "high-fat," rather than between "low-fat" and, for instance, "regular."
In the story lede, the writer uses the phrase "women who treat themselves to ..." instead of just saying "women who choose."
And, I agree with Alex in comment #3 -- the reference to "buckets and buckets" of ice cream is just plain insulting.
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3-06-2007 @ 10:51PM
docwrite said...
This study also showed that women who eat ice cream are more likely to succeed in getting pregnant than those who don't. But don't forget to switch to low fat foods after getting pregnant.
http://minochahealth.typepad.com/gut/2007/03/ice_cream_for_p.html
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4-23-2007 @ 2:29PM
Mari said...
Hi everyone, I came across a book that might be relevant to the topic discussed here.
It's called "The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility" by Dr. Nancy Dunne.
It's a comprehensive book that covers dozens of PCOS and diet topics. This is her website:
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com.
Reply
4-23-2007 @ 2:30PM
Mari said...
Hi everyone, I came across a book that might be relevant to the topic discussed here.
It's called "The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility" by Dr. Nancy Dunne.
It's a comprehensive book that covers dozens of PCOS and diet topics. This is her website:
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com.
Reply