Diet including lots of low-fat dairy products might lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Previous studies have suggested that a high level of dairy foods in the diet may lower the risk of being overweight or developing insulin resistance syndrome. But little has been studied to examine the link between these factors and diabetes. Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health looked for the relationship between type 2 diabetes and dietary levels of dairy foods and calcium in 37,183 women in the Women's Health Study. A total of 1,603 women developed diabetes during an average follow-up of 10 years. It was found that women who consumed more low-fat dairy foods tended to experience a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in a period of 10 years. After adjusting for potentially confounding factors such as weight, physical activity, and family history of diabetes, women with the highest intake of dairy foods were 21 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, as compared to those with the lowest intake. It was also found that each serving-per-day increase in dairy intake was associated with a 4-percent lower risk. The benefit of a high intake of low-fat dairy foods on type 2 diabetes risk was independent of dietary calcium and vitamin D. Low-fat dairy foods can be incorporated into a healthy diet that may lower a woman's risk of diabetes.
Diabetes Care,
July 2006