The Case Against Low Fat Milk
By: Andrew Truax
Article Summary
An article by Alice Park was released online through Time Magazine on April 4, 2016. This article focuses on the commonly practiced nutritional strategy of drinking low fat milk over high fat milk. However, Park explains why this nutritional strategy is a misconception. She refers to two different studies in this article. The first study was conducted by a Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian on thousands of individuals. His study found that high fat dairy intake lowers ones chances of acquiring diabetes by 46%. Another study posted on the American Journal of Nutrition found that high fat dairy intake lowers ones chances of acquiring diabetes by 8%. Here the author argues the increased fat in the diet fulfills more of the needed daily energy requirements. Because of this the consumer will have a smaller urge to snack throughout the day, and most of the snacks people consume are high in simple sugars and carbohydrates. The increase in fat in dairy products decreases hunger, sugar intake, and thus reduces fat build up and insulin production.
Article Critque
Alice Park has been writing for Time Magazine since 1993. Her articles focus on many different health and medical news. She has received two CASE media fellowships, one each at Harvard and UCLA. Park has also written many books on AIDS and stem cell research. This article was sponsored by TIME Magazine, which is a well known international news source. Both her history and accreditations, and TIME Magazine sponsoring the article lends to the credibility of the article. The first piece of research addressed in this article was done by a Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian. This man is a cardiologist, an epidemiologist, and a teacher at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mozaffarian has authored or co-authored over 200 publications involving lifestyle and cardiovascular health. His research is very credible and strengthened Park's article. The second piece of research she uses to support her article is a study on American Journal of Nutrition. The study addresses how dairy intake affects weight gain and weight lose in middle aged and older adults. The article is posted on American Journal of Nutrition, which is a credible source. The study itself was performed by five different doctors and has 32 references to support their findings. This second study furthers Park's summation. This article is very well written. She starts begins by addressing the commonly practiced diet of low fat dairy intake. Then she talks about why high fat dairy intake is better, and has scientific research to support her argument. She finishes the article with many different explanations as to why high fat dairy intake may be better. Park has definitely made me question my diet and my habit of always buying skim milk.
References
Brief Bio - Dariush Mozaffarian. (2016). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/dariush-mozaffarian/
Diary Consumption in Association with Weight Change. (2016, February 24). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/103/4/979.full.pdf html
TIME Media Kit » Alice Park. (2016). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.timemediakit.com/bios/park/