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 Researchers examined data on total dairy consumption for more than
168,000 women and more than 49,000 men without any history of cancer
or heart disease. During about three decades of follow-up, 51,438
people died.
Compared to people with the lowest total dairy consumption - an
average of 0.8 servings a day - those who consumed the most dairy -
an average of 4.2 servings daily - were 7% more likely to die during
the study period. People who fell somewhere in between - with about
one to three servings daily - had survival odds similar to
individuals who consumed the least amount of dairy.
"Total dairy intake was not associated with lower risk of total
mortality," lead study author Ming Ding of the Harvard School of
Public Health in Boston and colleagues write in The BMJ.
"The health effects of dairy could depend on the comparison foods
used to replace dairy," Ding and colleagues write.
Some previous research has linked dairy consumption with a slightly
lower risk of a wide range of health problems including high blood
pressure, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers, the study
team writes. But high dairy consumption has also been linked with an
increased risk of some cancers in some previous studies.
Dairy products are widely consumed worldwide, and are an important
source of protein, vitamin D, and calcium, the study team notes.
Dairy can also contain saturated fats and cholesterol that might
negatively impact health, the authors point out.
For the current analysis, researchers looked at data from the
Nurses' Health Study, Nurses' Health Study II, and the Health
Professionals Follow-up Study in the U.S. All three studies
administered health questionnaires to participants every two years
and also asked about eating habits.
People in these studies who consumed the most dairy were less likely
to drink alcohol and smoke and more physically active than those
with the least dairy in their diets, the study found.
In some instances, the type of dairy products people consumed also
appeared to impact mortality.
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A higher intake of skimmed or low-fat milk, for example, was
associated with a slightly higher risk of death from all causes
during the study as well as a greater chance of dying from heart
disease or colorectal cancer, in particular.
Whole milk, meanwhile, was associated with a higher risk of death
from all causes as well as from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Cheese and yogurt didn't appear to influence longevity, however.
When people substituted one daily serving of dairy for nuts and
legumes, they had a 14% lower chance of dying during the study.
Swapping one serving of whole grains for one serving of dairy was
associated with an 11% lower risk of dying during the study.
But replacing one serving of dairy with one serving of red or
processed meat was associated with a 5% higher risk of dying during
the study.
The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how dairy consumption might directly impact mortality.
One limitation of the study is that most participants were white and
working in the healthcare industry, and it's possible that results
might be different for people from other racial or ethnic groups or
for individuals with different professions or incomes.
Even so, the results suggest that consuming dairy in moderation may
mean people live longer, depending on what else is in their diets,
the study team concludes.
"Two servings per day of dairy consumption was associated with the
lowest cardiovascular mortality, but higher intake was associated
with a slightly higher mortality, especially cancer mortality," the
researchers conclude.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/382RHvD The BMJ, online November 27, 2019.
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