Consuming low-fat dairy products may lessen fertility in women

Thursday, March 29, 2007 by: M. T. Whitney
Tags: low-fat dairy, dairy products, infertility

Drinking skim milk and other low-fat dairy products increases a woman's risk of being infertile, research from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests. Less-healthy foods that have a high fat content, meanwhile, actually tend to increase fertility.

Jump directly to: conventional view | alternative view | resources | bottom line

What you need to know - Conventional View

• The study showed eating two or more low-fat dairy products a day as part of a woman's diet increases her chance of infertility by 85 percent.

• This type of infertility is due to a lack of ovulation, called anovulatory infertility.

• The eight-year research study involved 18,555 women between 24 and 42 in age with no history of infertility. By the end of the dietary study, 438 had become infertile.

• Information on the link is scarce and the study's lead researcher, Dr. Jorge Chavarro, believes that while the connection between infertility and low-fat dairy products is relevant, more research is needed.

• "Once they have become pregnant, then they should probably switch back to low fat dairy foods as it is easier to limit intake of saturated fat by consuming [these]," Chavarro said in the study.

• The research was published February 28th in the European health journal Human Reproduction.

What you need to know - Alternative View

Statements and opinions by Mike Adams, author of Grocery Warning: How to identify and avoid dangerous food ingredients

• All processed dairy products carry health risks. While raw, organic milk offers genuine nutrition, processed dairy products (homogenized and pasteurized) have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, hardening of the arteries, obesity and digestive disorders.

• For smart consumers, the choice is not between skim milk vs. whole milk, but rather dairy products vs. dairy-free products.

Resources you need to know

• Almond Breeze by Blue Diamond is a natural alternative to cow's milk that tastes great: www.bluediamond.com/retail/breeze/index.cfm

Bottom line

A diet that includes low-fat dairy versus high-fat dairy may affect the fertility of women trying to conceive a child.