unknown protective constituents of dairy foods

Every now and again some research appears which turns established wisdom on its head and makes scientists scratch their heads and pull puzzled expressions. Well, that's exactly what a recent bit of research published by the Annals of Internal Medicine has done. 

In a nutshell the research has shown that individuals who consumed higher levels of whole-fat dairy products were less likely to suffer from diabetes. Established guidelines warn people who are at high risk of obesity and diabetes to stay away from full fat dairy products, however this new research shows that those who opted for the low fat dairy products were more likely to end up with diabetes. The researchers also said that those people who consumed whole fat dairy products tended to have better metabolic profiles.

Professor Dariush Mozaffarian from the Harvard School of Public Health who was the lead author of this study put it more scientifically when he said that the study showed "an inverse relationship between the level of trans-palmitoleate and metabolic risk factors and diabetes incidence" and "small differences in the trans-palmitoleate level raises questions about...whether it is the active compound or a marker for...unknown protective constituents of dairy foods." Complicated stuff eh!

This is not the first time that we have come across evidence at Ukmedix News about the possibility that high fat dairy products can play an important part in a healthy diet and that they should not automatically be excluded from a healthy weight loss or weight maintenance lifestyle. 

The study which was given a helping hand by the National Institutes of Health as part of Cardiovascular Health Study was led by Professor Mozaffarian who along with his colleagues looked at the medical data of over 3,700 volunteers all of whom were at least 65 years old. They were subjected to physical examinations, diagnostic testing as well as detailed questionnaires about their health. 

The study which was continued over ten years involved yearly checkups and regular telephone calls. They were also subjected to lab test that measured 45 different fatty acids.