A new study released from Cardiff University suggests that an increased intake of milk and other dairy products may reduce metabolic syndrome, a condition characterized central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. The syndrome has been linked to increased risks of both type-2 diabetes and CVD.
Peter Elwood and co-workers from Cardiff University studied the diet and incidence of metabolic syndrome among 2375 men, and found that men who drank milk and ate dairy products regularly were 62 percent less likely to have the syndrome.
After 20 years of follow-up the researchers calculated that the 15 percent of men with MetS at the start of the study were at almost double the risk of coronary artery heart disease and four times the risk of diabetes of those without the syndrome.
But those who regularly drank milk and ate dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese, were significantly less likely to have the syndrome. Indeed, Elwood and co-workers report that a daily pint of milk was associated with a 62 percent risk reduction, while regularly intake of other dairy produce reduced the risk by 56 percent.