Fermented Dairy Products May Be Associated with Lower Risk of Heart Disease, Says Study

Akshay Naik 08 November 2018

Life

A long-term study from the University of Eastern Finland has concluded that men who consume plenty of fermented dairy products have a lower risk of coronary heart disease compared to men who consume lesser amounts of such products. The study also cautions that very high consumption of non-fermented dairy products, on the other hand, can increase the risk of incident coronary heart disease.

Adjunct professor in nutrition epidemiology and lead researcher Jyrki Virtanen has said that the biological mechanisms underpinning this causal relationship are still not completely known. In his ongoing study, known as the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, researchers provide further evidence on the health benefits that fermented dairy products may have versus non-fermented ones. This latest research builds on earlier studies that have shown that fermented dairy products have more positive effects on blood lipid profiles and on the risk of heart disease than other dairy products.

The study included 2,000 men as participants and their dietary habits were assessed at the beginning of the study during 1984-1989. The researchers followed the dietary habits of these men for an average of 20 years. Participants were divided into groups based on the quantity of different dairy products that they consumed and data from groups with the highest and lowest consumption were compared, while also taking various lifestyle and nutrition factors into consideration. Following up after 20 years, 472 of the 2,000 participants were found to have experienced an incident coronary heart disease event.

Some participants were divided into four groups on the basis of their consumption of fermented dairy products with less than 3.5% fat. The risk of incident coronary heart disease within these four groups was 26% lower in the highest consumption group compared to that in the lowest consumption group. Sour milk was the most commonly used low-fat fermented dairy product in these groups. Furthermore, from the data collected within these groups, the consumption of high-fat fermented dairy products, such as cheese, was not associated with the risk of incident coronary heart disease.

However, the researchers found that very high consumption of non-fermented dairy products is related to an increased risk of heart disease. Milk was the most commonly used product in this category and very high consumption was defined as an average intake of 0.9 litres per day. Similarly, lower consumption levels were not associated with the risk.

Although the mechanisms are not clearly understood as yet and further study is necessary, some early conclusions can be drawn. Results of this study point to the likelihood that eating lower-fat fermented dairy products reduces the risk of developing heart disease. However, Prof Virtanen has said it is still too early to issue health advice, based on these results.

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