Hypertension: How do dairy products affect blood pressure?

0

A decrease in blood pressure was found to be associated with dairy consumption, and , surprisingly, it was the whole-fat varieties that were associated with the greatest overall health benefits.

A research paper detailing these results was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and included nearly 150,000 participants from 21 countries, from North America to Asia. Participants ranged in age from 35 to 70 and were asked to document their food intake using a questionnaire for more than a year.

Participants were followed up an average of nine years later. From a large data set, the researchers found that eating two servings of dairy products per day was associated with a 24 percent reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.

More interestingly, having two servings of whole-fat dairy products was associated with 28 percent reduction in risk of metabolic syndrome.

Consumption of low-fat dairy products was not associated with reduced risk of metabolic syndrome at all.

“Higher consumption of dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese, especially full-fat rather than low-fat, is associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome and a lower risk of hypertension and diabetes.”

Dr. Mente debunked the myth that dairy products are bad for your health health.

“Dairy products and milk fat provide high-quality protein and a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals,” he said.

For example:

< li>Calcium
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Phosphorus
• Vitamins A
• Vitamin B12

< li>Riboflavin