Dairy calcium intake modifies responsiveness of fat metabolism and blood lipids to a high-fat diet

Intervention studies have demonstrated that saturated fat increases total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations, and it is therefore recommended that the intake of high-fat dairy products be limited. However, observational studies have found an inverse relationship between the intake of dairy products and incidence of CVD. We aimed to study whether the Ca content of dairy products influences the effect of dairy fat on the lipid profile. The study had a randomised cross-over design. Subjects (n 9) were randomised to one of the sequence of four isoenergetic 10 d diets: low Ca and low fat (LC/LF: approximately 700mg Ca/d, 25% of energy (fat); high Ca and LF (HC/LF: approximately 2800 mg Ca/d, 25% of energy fat); LC and high fat (LC/HF: approximately 700 mg Ca/d, 49E% fat); or HC and HF (approximately 2800mg Ca/d, 49 E% fat). Blood variables were measured before and after each diet period, and faeces and urine were collected at the end of each diet period. A two-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of Ca and fat intake. Independent of Ca intake, the HF diet increased the concentrations of total (9 %; P<0.0001), LDL (14 %; P<0.0001)- and HDL (13 %; P<0.0002)-cholesterol compared with the LF diet. However, independent of fat intake, the HC diet decreased the concentrations of total (4 %; P=0 .0051) and LDL-cholesterol (10 %; P<0.0001) but not HDL-cholesterol compared with the LC diet. In addition, total: HDL-cholesterol was decreased (5 %; P=0.0299), and HDL:LDL was increased (12 %; P=0.0097) by the HC diet compared with the LC diet. Faecal fat excretion was increased by both the HC (P<0.0001) and HF (P=0.0052) diets. In conclusion, we observed that dairy Ca seems to partly counteract the raising effect of dairy fat on total and LDL-cholesterol, without reducing HDL-cholesterol.