Want to Avoid Diabetes? Eat Dairy!

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Eating low-fat dairy products like skim milk and yogurt can significantly reduce your risk of getting diabetes, shows a new study based on data collected during the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Researchers found a nine-percent decrease in risk for each additional serving-per-day in total diary intake. The result was primarily due to consumption of low-fat dairy foods and held true even after researchers adjusted their findings to take other diabetes risk factors, such as age, family history of diabetes, smoking, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, into account.

The study involved more than 41,000 men who were followed for about 12 years. Over that time, about 1,240 developed type 2 diabetes.

The authors write, “Dietary patterns characterized by higher dairy intake, especially low-fat dairy intake, may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in men.” They believe dairy products may work by favorably affecting various risk factors for the disease, noting other studies have shown dairy benefits body weight, high blood pressure, and blood sugar.

Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem in the United States and around the world, affecting more than 16 million Americans and 135 million people worldwide. By the year 2025, worldwide incidence of the condition is expected to reach 300 million.

People with diabetes are significantly more likely to develop other serious medical conditions as well, including heart disease, kidney failure, and blindness. Preventing the condition through weight control and other means is considered key to reducing the overall health burden resulting from the disease.

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SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2005;165:997-1003