New research from the British Medical Journal suggests that maintaining a diet rich in dairy is linked to lower risks of developing potentially serious health conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome.
It suggests that as few as two servings of dairy per day (from products including milk, yogurt, yogurt drinks, cheese, and dishes prepared with dairy) could be enough to positively impact health.
Of approximately 113,000 participants, it found that consuming at least two servings of dairy per day was associated with an 11-12% lower risk of high blood pressure and diabetes (rising to a 13-14% lower risk for 3 daily servings) and could lower the risk of developing metabolic syndrome by as much as 28%.
The large international study (which seems to confirm past research across Europe and North America on the same subject) focused on 112,922 participants aged 35 – 70 from 21 countries, covering: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Iran, Malaysia, Palestine, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Zimbabwe.
Whilst we know that milk is an important source of vitamins, nutrients, and essential fats for growing children, according to studies by Northumbria University in conjunction with Cool Milk and recommendations from The Dairy Council, this new research indicates that maintaining a diet rich in dairy products could be beneficial at any age.
The researchers suggest: “If our findings are confirmed in sufficiently large and long term trials, then increasing dairy consumption may represent a feasible and low cost approach to reducing [metabolic syndrome], hypertension, diabetes, and ultimately cardiovascular disease events worldwide.”
Read the study in full here:
BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, May 2020 (https://drc.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000826)
For more information on the benefits of milk for children’s development, please explore the links below:
- Cool Milk: ‘Why Milk is Great’
- The School and Nursery Milk Alliance: ‘A Serving of Milk Contains…’