Milk Really Is Good For Your Coronary Arteries

Here's another area where there are some controversial findings which require clarification. A year ago, a US publication in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported the results of a meta-analysis of 21 studies that showed there was no detrimental effect of dietary saturated fat on the incidence of coronary artery disease or cardiovascular disease. Now a study done at Wageningen and Harvard universities, and sponsored by the Dutch Dairy Association, has also been published in the same journal. It analyzed 17 prospective studies from Europe, USA, and Japan, which met strict inclusion criteria. The objective was to examine any associations of milk, total dairy products, and high- and low-fat dairy intake with the risk for cardiovascular disease and total mortality.

From 5,000 publications that were evaluated 17 met the inclusion criteria, i.e. they were original prospective cohort studies.  In these studies there were 2,283 cases of cardiovascular disease, 4,391 of coronary heart disease, 15,554 strokes, and 23,949 deaths.  These large numbers allowed assessment of their frequency at different levels of lipid intake.  Milk intake was inversely associated with the overall risk of cardiovascular disease, but not with the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or total mortality.  (Inversely associated means the greater the milk intake, the less is the risk of cardiovascular disease.)  The researchers calculated that drinking 3 glasses of milk a day could lead to an 18% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. 

There were no significant associations between the other dairy lipids and risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, or mortality.  So it looks as if milk – which is also a good source of calcium – is an excellent food component to help one protect oneself against cardiovascular/coronary artery disease.  (Intake of calcium above the recommended daily levels may reduce the mortality from heart disease by as much as 25%.)