Consumption of Low-Fat Dairy Products Protects Against Hypertension

buy microsoft office enterprise 2007

buy Microsoft Office 2003 Professional sp3buy autodesk autocad 2009

Consumption of Low-Fat Dairy Products Protects Against Hypertension

The relationship between diet and hypertension is well-known. Previous research has linked the consumption of low-fat dairy foods to reduced hypertension, but this association has been demonstrated only in children and adolescents.

Few studies have examined the relationship between consumption of dairy products and hypertension in adults; even fewer studies have examined this relationship in adults whose diets contain high amounts of fat.
The objective of this cohort study was to determine the association between low-fat dairy product consumption and hypertension in more than 5,800 middle-aged adults. Over a 27-month period, subjects completed a series of food-frequency questionnaires that tracked daily intake of dairy products and other foods. Participants also reported whether they had received a medical diagnosis of hypertension between baseline and the follow-up questionnaire at the end of the study period.
Analysis showed that subjects with the highest intake of low-fat dairy products such as skim milk were 54 percent less likely to develop hypertension over the course of the study period compared to subjects who consumed the least amount of low-fat dairy products. The protective effect remained even after the researchers adjusted for other factors associated with the risk of high blood pressure, such as overall diet, exercise levels, body weight, and incidence of smoking.
The scientists concluded that the results of their study "add new information about the role of dairy products, especially those with a low-fat content, in the prevention of hypertension." They added that the study "provided evidence to support a possible role of low-fat dairy products in the primary prevention of hypertension, even in a population with a high total fat intake."
Alonso A, Beunza JJ, Delgado-Rodriguez M, et al. Low-fat dairy consumption and reduced risk of hypertension: the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition November 2005;82:872-879.