Full Milk Products Help Reduce Diabetes Risk

A new study suggests that eating and drinking high-fat dairy products is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Researchers at Tufts University conducted a study to assess 15 years of total plasma and erythrocyte fatty acids data collected from 3,333 adults (30–75 years of age at onset) who participated in the 1989-90 Nurses' Health Study and the 1993- 1994 Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Concomitantly, the participants’ incident diabetes rates through 2010 were confirmed by using a validated supplementary questionnaire based on symptoms, diagnostic tests, and medications.

The results showed that during the follow-up period, 277 new cases of diabetes were diagnosed; those with the highest levels of dairy fat in their blood demonstrated a 46% lower risk of developing diabetes, compared to those who had the lowest levels. In pooled analyses adjusting for demographics, metabolic risk factors, lifestyle, diet, and other circulating fatty acids, those with higher plasma fatty acid content still demonstrated a 44%–52% lower risk for diabetes, regardless of any weight gains or losses. The study was published online on March 22, 2016, in Circulation.

“I think these findings, together with those from other studies do call for a change in the policy of recommending only low-fat dairy products,” said lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, in an interview with Time magazine. “This is just one more piece of evidence showing that we really need to stop making recommendations about food based on theories about one nutrient in food. It’s crucial at this time to understand that it’s about food as a whole, and not about single nutrients.”

Previous studies found that when people reduce fat intake, they tend to replace it carbohydrates and sugar, exacerbating insulin and diabetes risk. While it is not clear how whole fat helps to lower this risk, the presumption is that high fat dairy products have enough calories to combat hunger, so there is no need for additional calories from sugary foods. It is also possible that the fats in dairy may be acting to improve liver and muscle tissue ability to break down sugars. Another possibility is that in high fat dairy foods, which are fermented, microbes may be working to improve insulin response and lower diabetes risk.

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