Consumer columnist and West Hartford resident Harlan Levy has more than 20 years of experience writing stories about everyday experiences that anyone could encounter.

Harlan Levy. Courtesy photo

By Harlan Levy

U.S. Health chief and anti-vaccination delusionist Robert F. Kennedy just did something right, telling schools nationwide to give kids whole milk and ditching low-fat milk. I’ve been following that advice for a decade. I’ll explain why after giving you this week’s surprising tariff-vulnerable Mexican avocado and Canadian tomato prices at town supermarkets – prices (with some stores’ tomatoes the exception) that for some reason don’t reflect the crushing Trump tariffs … yet:

• Stop & Shop: Tomatoes: $1.99/lb! Avocados: 77 cents each!
• Big Y: Tomatoes: $3.49/lb. (up $1). Avocado: 2/$3.00
• Whole Foods: Mexican tomatoes: $3.64/lb. Avocados: 2/$4.00
• Trader Joe’s: Tomatoes: $3.49/lb. Avocados: $1.49 each, 4-pack organic $5.99, 4-pack regular: $4.99.

At Stop & Shop, avocados from Mexico are at hard-to-believe prices although high tariffs (taxes) are supposedly on the way. Photo credit: Harlan Levy

Whole milk dairy vs. low-fat milk dairy

In a surprising tilt toward healthy eating, Federal officials said they are preparing to allow children to get whole milk at school through the White House’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy,” which challenges established nutritional thinking and promotes food with little processing.

”It unites the secretary’s MAHA supporters, industry groups and many nutritionists who describe the government’s stance on fat as out of sync with the latest science,” the feds said.

New research offers mounting evidence that full-fat milk, cheese, and yogurt offer their own health benefits and aren’t less healthy than low-fat versions, they said.

For decades, Americans have been told by doctors to favor low-fat dairy – a recommendation rooted in fears that saturated fat and excess calories were fueling an epidemic of obesity and heart disease. This became government doctrine in 1980.

South Beach Diet creator

I talked with internationally respected cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston, who created the South Beach Diet and has long advocated whole-milk dairy.

“The more fat the less sugar there is. And in the case of milk there’s less lactose. Dairy fat happens to be good for you,” he told me. “You want to avoid simple sugars in low-fat diets and processed carbohydrates.” They go to your liver which changes them into fat, he said.

”Every overweight youngster you see with a distended belly may be diabetic and insulin-resistant,” Agatston said, “and they may be headed to medical problems, because they have very high insulin levels. That’s why there’s an epidemic of colon cancer in young people.”

Agatston has recommended whole milk dairy products over low-fat items for several years, “and it’s well understood now.”

From my online research I learned that the fat in whole dairy helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and contains beneficial components, such as the milk-fat globular membrane. This component, removed during the production of low-fat dairy, contains anti-inflammatory fats and proteins and may help improve gut health.

Also, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K require fat for the body to absorb them effectively.

Recent research concluded that consuming whole-fat dairy is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular heart disease, and obesity, and may have a protective effect against these conditions. Many low-fat yogurts contain added sugar to improve flavor, making full-fat versions a healthier choice in comparison, contradicting earlier beliefs that low-fat dairy was superior.

Now you know.

NOTE: If you have a consumer problem, contact me at [email protected] (“Consumer” in subject line), and, with the power of the press, maybe I can help.

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