The Guardian

Research suggests a diet rich in dairy fat may

lower the risk of heart disease
Donna Lu
Tue, 21 September 2021, 10:05 pm

A higher consumption of dairy fat may be linked to a lower risk of

cardiovascular disease, according to new research that suggests
choosing full-fat dairy options is no worse for heart health.

The study, from an international team of experts, challenges the view

that full-fat dairy products, such as cheese, yoghurt and milk, should
be avoided because of their high saturated fat content.

Researchers assessed dairy fat intake in 4,150 Swedish 60-year-olds

by measuring the blood concentration of certain fatty acids that are
found in dairy foods.

They followed the participants for an average of 16.6 years, recording

how many died or had heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular
conditions.

Cardiovascular disease risk was the lowest for participants who had
high levels of the dairy fatty acids. The researchers also found that
higher intakes of dairy fat were not associated with an increased risk
of death.

Lead author Dr Kathy Trieu from the George Institute for Global Health
said fat intake and its link to heart health was more complex than
previously thought.

“There’s increasing evidence to show that the type of dietary fat, or

the source of dietary fat, is actually more important than the amount
of fat,” she said.

“When we’re selecting dairy foods to buy, it’s less important to select
the low-fat option,” Trieu said, advising that consumers instead avoid
products with added sugar or sodium. “A very clear example of that is:
it’s better to select unflavoured yoghurts rather than a low-fat
flavoured yoghurt.”
The researchers said using biomarkers as a proxy for dairy fat intake
was more reliable than depending on individuals to accurately self-
report their eating habits. But the biomarkers could not distinguish
what types of dairy products were consumed and whether they had
different effects.

Cheese consumption, for example, has been previously linked to

a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, while a large US
study published in April has linked butter intake to a higher mortality
risk.

“Cheeses include vitamin K, and these may be linked with

cardioprotective benefits,” Trieu said, adding that more research was
needed to understand the link between dairy foods and heart health.

In addition to the analysis in Sweden – where dairy consumption is

among the highest globally – the researchers undertook a meta-
analysis including 17 other studies, involving nearly 43,000 people in
the UK, US and Denmark.

That broader analysis also linked higher dairy fat consumption to a

lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Trieu said the findings were broadly applicable to countries with a

western pattern diet, such as Australia. But the researchers also
suggested that “extrapolation of the findings to other ethnic groups
should be done with caution”, as the vast majority of the 60-year-olds
they followed were born in either Sweden or Finland.

A large 2018 study, conducted in 21 mainly low and middle-income

countries, similarly found that consumption of dairy products may
protect against heart disease and stroke.

One limitation of the Swedish study was that the participants’ blood
biomarkers were only measured once, at the beginning of the
research, reflecting their dietary fat intake at a specific point in time.

“Usually, we expect diet to not change that much,” Trieu said,

acknowledging that dairy consumption habits could have fluctuated
during the study period.

The research was published in the journal Plos Medicine.

Where 'Quarantine' Comes From
VOA, April 04, 2020

In human history, the spread of infectious diseases to mass numbers of people

is not uncommon. Pandemics, historians say, started when we humans
began farming land and living in communities. Pandemics increased as trade
between communities and nations increased.

From smallpox to influenza to the plague, there was often no medical

treatment to prevent or cure these diseases. Take for example, the plague that
hit Europe in the 14th century. It is also known as the “Black Death.”

With no medical prevention available, isolating the sick was the only
effective public health defense. With many other pandemics, the best chance
at prevention was to keep sick people away from healthy people. This is called
a quarantine.

And that is our word for today.

Word experts at Merriam-Webster explain that the word “quarantine” has
both French and Italian influences.

In the late 1400s, English speakers borrowed the French

word quarantaine which means “a period of about 40 days.” Quarante is the
word for the number 40 (forty) in French.

At that time, quarantaine had a religious meaning. Some word experts say it
refers to the period of time Jesus spent fasting -- going without food -- in the
desert.

However, over time, people began using it for more than just religious
situations. For example, it referred to the delay of putting a legal agreement in
place. In the early 1500s, quarantine also was used to describe a "period of 40
days in which a widow has the right to remain in her dead husband's house.”

Around the same time, other city-states in Europe were also using a similar
word -- quarantena. This word was used to mean the “isolation of a ship to
protect the port city from potential disease.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains on its website that
“quarantine was first introduced in 1377 on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.”

By the 1600s, English speakers began using quarantena to mean “isolation as

protection from disease.” As the French form of this word (quarantaine) was
already being used, English kept it but gave it a new meaning. It was now an
English word based on French spelling -- with an Italian definition and Latin
roots.

In North America in the late 1600s, quarantine was introduced to control

yellow fever. The CDC says this was the case in New York (1688) and in Boston
(1691).

That’s the word history. Now, let’s talk about how to use “quarantine” in a
sentence.

For starters, it is both a noun and a verb.

As a noun, we often use it after the preposition “under.” If someone is under
quarantine, they are required to physically keep away from others. For
example: “When she was under quarantine, the woman learned how to play
the piano and speak simple Russian.”

The word “quarantine” is often combined with other nouns. In the news and
from government announcements you may read about, quarantine guidelines,
quarantine authority and quarantine systems.

As a verb, we can say that some young people in the United States are not fully
self-quarantining themselves.

So, isolation and quarantine are both ways to help protect the public. They
both prevent exposure to people who have or may have
a contagious disease.

And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next
time … I’m Anna Matteo!

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson
was the editor.

_____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pandemic – n. medical : an occurrence in which a disease spreads very
quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout
the world

isolate – v. to set apart from others

widow – n. a woman who has lost her spouse or partner by death and usually
has not remarried

potential – adj. a chance or possibility that something will happen or exist in

the future
authority – n. the power to give orders or make decisions : the power or
right to direct or control someone or something

exposure – n. the fact or condition of being affected by something or

experiencing something : the condition of being exposed to something

contagious – adj. having a sickness that can be passed to someone else by

touching