Dairy Products Named As Promising Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Dairy products named as promising cardiovascular disease prevention

Scientists analyzed information on diet and health of 190 thousand people from 21 countries. Their data suggests that dairy consumption is associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.

Photo: Marco Verch

Eating at least two servings of dairy products a day is associated with a reduced risk of developing hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. This is evidenced by a study published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

Metabolic syndrome is a complex of symptoms that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and a number of other pathologies. It includes high blood pressure, abnormalities in the lipid composition in the blood (an increase in the concentration of "bad" lipids and a decrease in useful ones), abdominal obesity, and an increase in fasting blood glucose levels.

Scientists analyzed data from a large international study, Prospective Rural and Urban Epidemiology (PURE), which included participants from 21 countries. In it, about 190 thousand people were monitored for their health for nine years. The authors looked at the effects of consuming milk, yogurt, cheese, and various dairy foods.

The total amount of dairy products consumed and the amount of whole milk products were associated with a reduced risk of hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. For foods with a low fat content (1-2%), no such association was found.

Those who ate at least two servings of dairy products a day, on average, had a 24% lower risk of metabolic syndrome. For whole milk products, this figure increased by up to 28% when compared with data from study participants who did not consume dairy products.

Scientists have named the most important risk factor for diabetes

According to the latest data, obesity increases the likelihood of developing diabetes by six times. In the new study, genetic factors were found to be less influential than previously thought.

Read the article

The risk of hypertension and diabetes was 11-12% lower for people who ate two servings of dairy products a day, and 13-14% for those who ate three.

In the study's findings, the researchers note that the use of dairy products may be an inexpensive method of preventing metabolic syndrome if its effect is confirmed in future studies.