The United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are being urged to lift limits on saturated fats in their upcoming 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The request comes from 10 top nutrition scientists from the United States, Canada and Denmark. Three of these scientists include former members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

“We conclude there is no strong scientific evidence that the current population-wide upper limits on commonly consumed saturated fats in the United States will prevent cardiovascular disease or reduce mortality,” say the scientists. “A continued limit on these fats is therefore not justified.”

They also note that there is evidence that saturated-fat intake may be associated with a lower risk of experiencing a stroke.

Cary Frye, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for the International Dairy Foods Association also notes: “While [higher fat versions of dairy products] do have higher levels of saturated fat than low-fat versions, a growing body of evidence indicates that consumption of full-fat dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt is not associated with higher risk of negative health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

“Moreover, a summary of multiple studies of full-fat dairy foods found that the evidence showed no association with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Some of the studies reviewed showed full-fat dairy was associated with lower risk of obesity.”