Writing in Diabetes Care, the research team, led by Frédéric Fumeron from the Paris Diderot University, aimed to assess the influence of dairy products on the nine year cumulative incidence of MetS.
Method and results
Fumeron and his team examined data from the Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (DESIR), a nine-year prospective study that surveyed 3,435 individuals in France using a food frequency questionnaire at baseline and after three years.
The authors examined dietary intake of three categories: dairy products excluding cheese, cheese specifically and overall calcium density of the diet.
The results were adjusted to exclude confounding variables such as body mass index (BMI).
Consumption of dairy products, cheese alone, and diet calcium density were associated with lower incidence of metabolic syndrome, a lower nine-year diastolic blood pressure and also lower BMI gain over time.
Neither cheese or calcium density were associated with type 2 diabetes alone.
Higher cheese intake and the calcium density of the diet were associated with lower triglyceride levels and a lower nine-year increase in waist circumference.
The triglyceride level measures the amount of triglycerides (a type of fat) in the blood.
The findings support a growing body of research suggesting a link between dairy intake and metabolic health.
Another recent study, published this February in British Journal of Nutrition claims the nutrient combination of calcium and milk fat in dairy products can help to reduce fat absorption, maintain good cholesterol and minimise bad cholesterol.
"With approximately one-third of American adults meeting the criteria for metabolic syndrome, there is a growing need to address this health issue," said Gregory Miller, president of the US-based Dairy Research Institute and executive vice president of the National Dairy Council.
Note of caution
However, Judith Wylie-Rosett, corresponding author at Diabetes Care warned people not to “jump on a treatment bandwagon” based on epidemiological data without evidence of benefit from well-controlled clinical trials.
“When dietary patterns are associated with lower disease risk, the shortcut approach for a quick fix that focuses on nutrient supplementation can be ill advised,” she said.
Source: Diabetes Care
Vol. 34, Issue 4, Pages 813-817, April 2011
Dairy Consumption and the Incidence of Hyperglycemia and the Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: F. Fumeron, A.Lamri, C. Abi Khalil, R. Jaziri, I.Porchay-Baldérelli, O. Lantieri, S. Vol, B.Balkau and M. Marre