Study
shows eating high-fat dairy lowers diabetes risk
New research presented
at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of
Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria, shows that people with the highest
consumption of high-fat dairy products (8 or more portions per day) have a 23%
lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest consumption
(1 or less per day).
The research is by Dr Ulrika Ericson, Lund University Diabetes Center, Malmö, Sweden, and colleagues.
The research is by Dr Ulrika Ericson, Lund University Diabetes Center, Malmö, Sweden, and colleagues.
Dietary fats could
affect glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity and may therefore have a
crucial role in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies have
indicated that replacing saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated
fats might be favourable in the prevention of T2D.
In line with this, plant sources of fat have been suggested to be a better choice compared with animal sources. Indeed, high intakes of red meat and meat products have been shown to increase the risk of T2D.
Nevertheless, several
epidemiological studies have indicated that a high intake of dairy products may
be protective. Subsequently, the importance of dietary fat content and food
sources of fat remains to be clarified.
In this new study, the
authors aimed to examine intakes of main dietary fat sources, classified
according to fat content, and their association with risk of developing T2D.
The study included 26
930 individuals (60% women), aged 45-74 years, from the population-based Malmö
Diet and Cancer cohort. Dietary data was collected with a modified diet history
method.
During 14 years of
follow up, 2860 incident T2D cases were identified. Modelling was used to
estimate hazard ratios (HR) of diabetes incidence in quintiles of energy
adjusted dietary intakes.
The model included
adjustments for age, sex, season, diet assessment method version, total energy
intake, BMI, leisure time physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and
education.
The researchers found
that high intake of high-fat dairy products was associated with a 23% lower
incidence of T2D for the highest consuming 20% of participants (or quintile)
(median=8 portions/day) compared with the lowest consuming 20% (median=1
portion/day).
Concerning intakes of
specific high-fat dairy foods, increasing intake of cream (30ml or more a day
in the highest consuming 20% versus 0.3ml a day or less in the lowest consuming
20%) was associated with a 15% reduction in risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
High-fat fermented milk*
consumption also reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 20%, when comparing
the highest consumers (180ml/day, the top 10% of consumers), with the
non-consumers (60% of participants).
In contrast to these
findings, there was no association found between intakes of low-fat dairy
products and risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Milk, bread and butter image via
Shutterstock.
Read more at EurekAlert.