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In the EU, 49 million people are living with CVD which remains a major cause for concern, particularly because of the escalating rates of overweight and diabetes. Dietary guidelines targeting CVD risks have tended to restrict our intake of saturated fats because of their association with raised blood cholesterol. Some proposals have advised restricting dairy foods as they are major sources of saturated fats. However, the author points to recent evidence that indicates such an approach is over-simplistic, and suggests that dietary guidelines should be based on a wider range of markers of CVD risk rather than relying on total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels.

Evidence suggests dairy does not raise CVD risk

Despite their high saturated fatty acids (SFA) content, dairy foods have repeatedly been found to have either no effect, or a beneficial effect on CVD risk, says the author.

Meta-analyses of prospective studies show that drinking a lot of milk does not increase the relative risk of coronary heart disease compared with low milk consumption. Other meta-analyses have shown no increase in CVD risk – and a fall in risk of stroke – per unit increase in milk and cheese consumption. Furthermore, yogurt consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

The health benefits of dairy may offset the risks from SFAs

The lack of increased risk of CVD among high dairy consumers may be due to the protective properties of other components that counter-balance the effects of SFAs, says the author:

• Milk and dairy products are rich in micronutrients and proteins, such as whey protein, that have been shown to lower blood pressure.
• Milk proteins may also have a beneficial effect on blood lipids, although further research is needed to confirm this.
• Research has suggested dairy product consumption does not increase arterial stiffness, an important predictor of CVD events.
• The health effect of a food may depend less on the individual effects of its nutrients and more on the overall effect of the food as a whole – the matrix – which determines the fat bioavailability. Evidence suggests the dairy matrix has specific beneficial effects on health.

Different types of dairy seem to be linked to various health effects while different processing methods may enhance interactions in the dairy matrix and so alter the metabolic effects. Hence in a crossover study, cheese did not lower total cholesterol or LDL-c relative to baseline, whereas butter increased both.

What if saturated fats in dairy foods are switched with unsaturated fats?

The author considers whether replacing SFAs in milk and dairy foods with unsaturated fats – cis-MUFA and cis-PUFA – would reduce the risk of CVD while retaining the health benefits gained from the other nutrient content of dairy products.

Studies looking at this question, using total cholesterol and/or LDL-c as markers of risk, have suggested a reduced risk of CVD from dairy foods that have an altered fatty acid profile compared with those with a normal fatty acid content. Further research is underway to clarify the value of this approach.

Find out more: read the original article.

Source: Givens DI. Saturated fats, dairy foods and health: A curious paradox? Nutrition Bulletin, 42, 274–282.

Encouraging the older generation to eat more yogurt could be a valuable public health strategy for maintaining strong bones, say the authors of this large-scale Irish study. Their results revealed that among older adults, those who eat yogurt more often tend to be less frail and have better physical function than those who rarely eat yogurt.

Weak and fragile bones are characteristic of osteoporosis, an increasingly common condition around the world. In the EU, osteoporosis with its associated risk of bone fracture, affects 21% of women and 6% of men aged 50-84 years.

Dairy products are among the richest sources of nutrients that are important for healthy bones – including protein, calcium, magnesium and the B vitamins. Previous studies have shown that dairy intake is positively linked to bone health.

In this study the authors examined the link between yogurt consumption and bone mineral density (BMD), biochemical markers of bone health, and physical function. They used data from 4310 people aged over 60 years who took part in the Trinity, Ulster, Department of Agriculture aging cohort study (TUDA).

High yogurt consumers have stronger bones

Among the women in the study, those who ate yogurt often (more than once per day serving) had stronger bones; their total hip and femoral neck BMD were 3.1-3.9% higher than in those who rarely or never ate yogurt (less than once per week serving).

In men, high yogurt consumers were found to have 12.9% higher mean vitamin D concentrations than non-consumers, and a 9.5% lower level of Trap 5b, a marker of the number of osteoclasts – bone cells involved in maintenance and repair of bone.

Physical function is associated with yogurt consumption

Compared with non-consumers, women who often ate yogurt had a lower ‘Timed Up and Go’ (TUG) score – the time it took to get up from a chair, walk 3 metres, then walk back and sit down again. TUG is a measure of mobility with worse scores associated with weaker muscles and balance, both risk factors for falling in older adults.

Osteoporosis risk may be cut by more than one-third

Using statistical modelling, the authors found that increasing yogurt intake was a significant predictor of bone health. Each increase of one serving per week of yogurt intake was associated with a 39% lower risk of osteoporosis in women and a 52% lower risk in men.

Yogurt benefits stand out among dairy products

When they looked at the other dairy types (milk and cheese), the authors found that bone biomarkers and BMD were similar regardless of how often participants drank milk, although TUG scores were lower in the non-milk consumers than the high consumers. The frequency of cheese intake made no significant differences to any of the measures.

According to the authors, the potential for yogurt to promote bone strength and physical function may be due to its unique mixture of macro- and micronutrients with bioactive compounds. It contains high concentrations of bone-promoting vitamins and minerals that have been associated with reduced frailty. It also contains proteins, bioactive peptides, and bio-cultures that may contribute to maintaining healthy bones and muscles during aging.

The authors point out that, if their results are confirmed, increasing yogurt consumption could be a low-cost and relatively low-risk strategy to improve bone health, used together with bone treatment.

Find out more: read the original article.

Source: Laird E, Molloy AM, McNulty H et al. Greater yogurt consumption is associated with increased bone mineral density and physical function in older adults. Osteoporos Int. 2017;28(8):2409-2419.

In an attempt to clarify the situation, the authors of this study carried out a comprehensive analysis of data from 29 prospective cohort studies.

Consuming fermented dairy products may reduce the risk of CVD

Their meta-analysis revealed that total fermented dairy (sour milk products, cheese and yogurt) intake (per 20 g/day) was associated with modest falls in the risk of CVD and death from all causes (all-cause mortality). There was no link with CHD risk.

In particular, cheese consumption (per 10 g/day) was associated with a 2% reduction in CVD risk, but had no effect on the risks of CHD or all-cause mortality.

Yogurt intake (per 50 g/day) had no effect on the risk of CVD, CHD or all-cause mortality. This finding is unexpected; a 2014 review of randomised trials suggested that yogurt consumption is associated with a reduced risk of CVD. The authors of the current analysis suggest that their failure to show an association may be due to the small number of participants available for this part of the analysis.

Dairy and milk intake show no association with CVD, CHD or mortality

Low-fat milk and dairy products are acknowledged as healthy dietary choices. However, consistent with other reports, the authors of this analysis found no significant associations between high- and low-fat dairy and CVD, CHD or all-cause mortality.

Nutrients in dairy products may counteract any harmful effects

Despite their fat content, milk and dairy products are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. Calcium, potassium and magnesium have been linked to a reduced risk of stroke. Furthermore, high-fat diets enriched with dairy minerals are associated with reduced total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels.

Full-fat milk and dairy products may be healthier than you think

Full-fat dairy foods have previously been linked to reduced risks of metabolic syndrome and obesity. In addition, a recent data analysis has shown no association between butter consumption and CVD, CHD or stroke, but showed a reduced risk of diabetes.

Find out more & read the original article.

Source: Guo J, Astrup A, Lovegrove JA et al. Milk and dairy consumption and risk of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality: dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Eur J Epidemiol. 2017;32(4):269-87.

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