A new study suggests that women who replace non-fermented milk with yogurt or other fermented milk products may lower their risk of heart disease.
Published in BMC Medicine, the research examined the relationship between milk consumption and the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and heart attacks.
IHD, a major cause of death worldwide, occurs when narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the heart, and researchers are still exploring how dairy products influence this risk.
Fermented milk products like yogurt and kefir contain beneficial lactic acid bacteria, unlike non-fermented milk.
Both types of milk are widely consumed in Scandinavian countries, where the study was conducted.
While milk is a recommended part of the diet, with the British Dietetic Association suggesting three servings of dairy per day (such as three glasses of semi-skimmed milk or 450 grams of low-fat yogurt), the type of milk may matter when it comes to heart health.
Researchers, led by Karl Michaëlsson, analyzed data from two large Swedish studies that included 59,998 women and 40,777 men without heart disease or cancer.
The participants, with an average age of 54 for women and 60 for men, were tracked over 33 years, from 1987 to 2021. During this period, 17,896 cases of IHD and 10,714 cases of heart attacks were documented.
Participants reported their daily intake of fermented and non-fermented milk, while researchers controlled for other health factors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and diabetes. In women, drinking over 300 milliliters of non-fermented milk per day (a little over a glass) was linked to a higher risk of IHD.
For instance, drinking 400 milliliters daily was associated with a 5% higher risk, 600 milliliters with a 12% higher risk, and 800 milliliters with a 21% higher risk. The same trend was observed for heart attacks. However, the study found no increased risk for men with higher non-fermented milk intake.
Interestingly, the research also indicated that swapping a 200-milliliter daily serving of non-fermented milk for fermented milk in women’s diets was associated with a slight decrease in heart risk—a 5% reduction for IHD and a 4% reduction for heart attacks.
The researchers believe that high amounts of non-fermented milk could impact levels of certain proteins in the body, such as ACE2 and FGF21, which play a role in regulating blood pressure and blood flow.
However, the study authors caution that the findings may not apply to all populations, as the participants were primarily Scandinavian. Additionally, the study was observational, meaning it cannot directly confirm that drinking non-fermented milk causes an increased risk of IHD in women.
Still, these findings open up new discussions about dairy choices for heart health, particularly for women. For those looking to reduce their heart risks, substituting non-fermented milk with yogurt or other fermented options may be a small but helpful dietary change.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and calcium supplements could harm your heart health.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that blackcurrants can reduce blood sugar after meal and results showing how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
