The influence of milk and dairy products on health
Description: Milk and dairy products are recommended as a part of a healthy diet. In contrast to the traditional view that milk consumption protects against fractures, we recently showed that a high intake of milk instead increased the risk of hip fracture, especially among women. The risk of mortality was also increased. In contrast, a high intake of fermented milk products including sour milk and yogurt or cheese were associated with lower risks of fracture and mortality. A potential explanation for these discrepant results is different effects on inflammation and oxidative stress, suggested underlying mechanisms for age-related diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, fracture, and cataract. Some smaller studies indicate that probiotic and fermented milk may lower concentrations of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Previous observational studies on dairy intake and disease outcomes frequently consider all dairy products as one entity and, in many settings, consumption of milk and dairy is rather low which limits the possibility to examine associations with high intakes. In the proposed research, we aim to compare the effect of a large intake of milk compared to that of a large intake of sour milk on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in a randomized cross-over trial. Further, in two large unique cohorts of women and men, we aim to examine the association between intake of milk and other milk products on incident age-related disease including fractures, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and cataract. Our large studies of men and women followed several decades into old age, with repeat dietary assessments and both high and low consumers of milk and other dairy products, and with well-ascertained disease outcomes provide unique opportunities to examine the role of milk and dairy for the risk of these diseases. The proposed research has a large potential to have an impact on future dietary guidelines.
Amount: SEK 3,430,000
Funding type: grant
Funder scheme: Unclassified
Start date: 2018-01-01
End date: 2020-12-31
Investigator: Liisa Byberg
Institution: Uppsala University
Funded outputs count: 0
Funder award ID: 2017-00963
OpenAlex ID: G75390503