Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

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Milk and dairy products in human nutrition
olives and olive oil, and encourages daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole
grain cereals and low-fat dairy products; 34 weekly consumption of fish, poultry,
tree nuts and legumes; a relatively low consumption of red meat, approximately
twice a month; and a moderate daily consumption of alcohol, normally with meals
(Kastorini et al., 2011). A systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 prospective
cohort studies covering over 2 million people with follow-up ranging from four
to 20 years (Sofi et al., 2010) found that a two-point increase of the score that
estimates adherence to the MD was associated with a significant reduction of
overall mortality (RR: 0.92; 95 percent CI: 0.90–0.94) and cardiovascular incidence
or mortality (RR: 0.90; 95 percent CI: 0.87–0.93). 35 A recent meta-analysis that
looked at six RCTs (total of 2 650 individuals) that compared an MD with low-fat
diets in overweight/obese individuals with a minimum follow-up of 6 months,
reporting intention-to-treat data on CVD risk factors found that the MD appears
to be more effective than low-fat diets in inducing clinically relevant long-term
changes in cardiovascular risk factors 36 and inflammatory markers (Nordmann et
al., 2011). Finally, a meta-analysis of 50 studies (a mix of clinical trials, prospective
studies and cross-sectional studies) which included over 500 000 individuals and
looked at the effect of the MD on MetS and its components found that adherence
to the MD was associated with reduced risk of MetS and components of MetS 37
(Kastorini et al., 2011).
4.8.3 Recent review studies on milk/dairy consumption with respect to
cardiovascular disease
Although no adequately powered RCTs are available that isolated milk/dairy as
the intervention, large cohort studies with prospectively collected baseline data on
health, lifestyle and diet provide important information that can be used to assess
the effect of milk and other dairy products on CHD risk. Several recent review
studies have looked specifically at milk/dairy food consumption and CVD, some
of which have conducted a meta-analysis of available cohort data. The key findings
of review studies published during the last five years are summarized in Table 4.4.
Alvarez-León, Román-Viñas and Serra-Majem (2006) reported an inverse
association between intake of dairy products and hypertension and stroke. The
authors comment that low-fat dairy products fulfil the recommendation for a diet
low in sodium and with adequate intakes of calcium, magnesium and potassium
to prevent hypertension. Gibson et al. (2009) noted that, while dairy foods are a
source of SFAs, there is no consistent evidence that consumption of dairy foods is
34 The Mediterranean dietary pattern is not homogeneous. Although most authors seem to agree that it
includes a moderate fat content (mainly from olive oil and nuts) and is rich in fruit, vegetables, legumes
and complex carbohydrates, low in red meat and includes moderate consumption of fish and
low to moderate amounts of red wine with meals, the role of dairy appears to be less clear cut.
35 The study also found a significant reduction in cancer incidence or mortality (RR: 0.94; 95% CI:
0.92, 0.96) and neurodegenerative diseases (RR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.94).
36 The individual risk factors were: weighted mean difference of body weight; BMI; systolic blood
pressure; fasting plasma glucose; total cholesterol; and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.
37 The components studied were waist circumference; HDL cholesterol; triglycerides; systolic blood
pressure; diastolic blood pressure; and glucose.