This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the Human Nutrition Unit of the URV-IISPV after analyzing nearcly 3,000 articles

Nowadays scientific evidence shows that consuming dairy products is associated with a lower risk of developing some cardiovascular and chronic diseases. Researchers from the Human Nutrition Unit of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili have carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to draw a conclusion from all the observational studies published so far. The objective of the review was to assess whether the consumption of different types of dairy products (milk, yogurt and cheese) are associated with the incidence of metabolic syndrome, a grouping of cardiovascular risk factors (abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, increased sugar in blood, low HDL-cholesterol and high blood levels of triglycerides) directly related with the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The authors reviewed nearly 3000 articles. The final conclusion obtained was that people who consumed more dairy products, milk and yogurt, compared with those who consumed less or did not consume, had a lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome, especially if they consume the low-fat version. During the statistical analyzes, a dose-response analysis was performed. The consumption of 1 serving of yogurt per day was associated with a 23% lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome. In addition, the consumption of whole milk was not associated with the risk of suffering from the disease.

This study has been published in the scientific journal Advances in Nutrition. The work has been led by the pre-doctoral researcher Guillermo Mena-Sánchez, Dr. Nerea Becerra Tomás, Dr. Nancy Babio, professor added from the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Rovira i Virgili University and a researcher attached to the Center for Biomedical Research in the Network of the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) and Professor Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Director of the Human Nutrition Unit of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Clinical Director of Nutrition of the Internal Medicine Service of the University Hospital of San Juan de Reus, principal investigator CIBERobn, and all members of the Pere i Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV).

Reference: Guillermo Mena-Sánchez Nerea Becerra-Tomás Nancy Babio Jordi Salas-Salvadó. “Dairy Product Consumption in the Prevention of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies” Advances in Nutrition, Volume 10, Issue suppl_2, May 2019, Pages S144–S153, https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmy083