BOSTON, May 9 (UPI) -- A Harvard School of Public Health study suggests men who consume large amounts of dairy products may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers analyzed data from 41,254 male participants with no history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at the start of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
"During 12 years of follow-up, we documented 1,243 (new) cases of type 2 diabetes," the authors wrote. "Each serving-per-day increase in total dairy intake was associated with a nine percent lower risk for type 2 diabetes."
"When we examined the association with dairy products stratified by their fat contents, the significant inverse association was primarily limited to low-fat dairy consumption. Most individual low-fat dairy products and ice cream showed a similar inverse trend,but only skim milk reached statistical significance.
"In conclusion, dietary patterns characterized by higher dairy intake, especially low-fat dairy intake, may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes."
The research appears in the May 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
