The healthiness of milk is in constant debate. Some nutritionists say it’s great; others say it’s awful. Official guidelines keep going back and forth about its inclusion in a healthy diet. But, new research is giving us more reason to drink it.

“Milk is probably the most controversial food in our country,” said lead author Larry Tucker said. “If someone asked me to put together a presentation on the value of drinking milk, I could put together a one-hour presentation that would knock your socks off. You’d think, ‘Whoa, everybody should be drinking more milk.’ If someone said to do the opposite, I could also do that. At the very least, the findings of this study are definitely worth pondering.”

A new study has shown that non-milk drinkers aged faster than milk drinkers and people who drank skim, or one percent did better than people who drank whole or two percent milk. The results were startling. For every one percent increase in milk fat, the person biologically aged four more years.

According to the study, “Nearly half of the people in the study consumed milk daily, and another quarter consumed milk at least weekly. A third of the adults reported consuming whole milk, while another 30 percent said they drank 2 percent. Meanwhile, 10 percent consumed 1 percent milk and another 17 percent drank nonfat. About 13 percent did not drink cow milk.” That’s a significant breakdown, giving the researchers plenty of information to go on.

The researchers were focused on the length of telomeres — part of the chromosome. As we age, telomeres become shorter, they showed signs of significant aging in the non-milk drinkers and folks who drank milk higher in fat. This is in line with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It’s so nice for a study to come out that tells us to keep following the advice we’ve been listening to!

Of course, physical aging is only one aspect of health. Older research that we wrote about last year showed that full-fat dairy is better for your heart. Foods impact us in many ways. We like to stay on top of research but always follow an essential guide: moderation and exercise. We love the flavor of whole fat yogurt, it’s usually lower in sugar than low-fat yogurt and it’s a great source of protein. So, at least while this research is still up in the air, we’ll be sticking to whole-fat yogurt and skim milk. That, along with exercise, may help up stay young and help our hearts.

If you have questions about your diet, you should speak to your doctor. They know your habits, lifestyle and medical history and can help you pick the healthiest diet for your needs.