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Whole-fat dairy consumption linked to lower diabetes risk
Mozzafarian D. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:790-799.
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Researchers found that circulating levels of trans-palmitoleate, a fatty acid people consume from whole-fat dairy products, may have a protective effect against incident type 2 diabetes.
Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study to investigate the relationship between circulating trans-palmitoleate, metabolic risk and incident type 2 diabetes. The study included more than 3,700 adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study in four US communities and was conducted between 1992 and 2006. Anthropometric characteristics and levels of plasma phospholipid fatty acids, blood lipids, inflammatory markers and glucose-insulin were measured at baseline; dietary habits were measured 3 years earlier.
Adults who reported eating more whole-fat dairy products had higher blood levels of trans-palmitoleate, according to the results. Higher trans-palmitoleate levels were associated with slightly lower adiposity, higher HDL (1.9% across quintiles; P=.040), lower triglyceride levels (–19%; P<.001) and lower insulin resistance (–16.7%; P<.001), among other metabolic benefits.
Most significantly, adults who had higher levels of trans-palmitoleate had a threefold lower risk for developing diabetes. The researchers reported multivariate HRs of 0.41 (95% CI, 0.27-0.64) and 0.38 (95% CI, 0.24-0.62) in quintiles 4 and 5 as compared with quintile 1 (P<.001).
Further, the protective associations of trans-palmitoleate on metabolic risk factors were confirmed in an independent validation cohort of 327 women.
“Our findings may explain previously observed metabolic benefits of dairy consumption and support the need for detailed further experimental and clinical investigation,” the researchers concluded.
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