ArticleLiterature Review

Yogurt Intake Reduces All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Eight Prospective Cohort Studies

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Objective To assess the relationship between yogurt intake and mortality risk from prospective cohort studies.Methods The PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched for all records related to yogurt intake and mortality risk [all-cause or cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer mortality] before October 1, 2018. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Scale was used to estimate the quality of all eligible articles. The results of the highest and lowest categories of yogurt intake in each study were collected and the effect size was pooled using a random effects model. The dose-response analysis was calculated using the generalized least squares trend estimation model.ResultsEight eligible cohort studies were included in this meta-analysis. There were 235,676 participants in the 8 studies, and the number of deaths was 14,831. Compared with the lowest category, the highest category of yogurt intake was not significantly related with all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR)=0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85, 1.01], CVD mortality (HR=0.92; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.03) and cancer mortality (HR=0.97; 95% CI: 0.83, 1.12). These studies were homogenous, since the homogeneity test showed that I2 was 28.7%, 15.1% and 11.8%, respectively. However, yogurt intake ⩾200 g/d was significantly associated with a lower all-cause mortality (HR=0.88; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.96) and CVD mortality (HR=0.87; 95% CI: 0.77, 0.99) in the subgroup analysis. The dose-response analysis showed that yogurt intake of 200 g/d was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (P=0.041, HR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.92, 1.00) and CVD mortality (P=0.009, HR=0.92, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.98), and all of which were linear relationship (P>0.05).Conclusions This review provided the evidence regarding yogurt intake can reduce all-cause and CVD mortality. Although some positive findings were identified, more high-quality cohort studies and randomized controlled trials are warranted on a possible protective effect of yoghurt on health.

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... Moreover, different associations were reported between yogurt consumption and mortality outcomes in men and women (13,16) . In an earlier meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies, high yogurt intake was not related to a lower risk of all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality (17) . However, this review had several limitations. ...
... In contrast, no association was observed between yogurt intake and overall mortality in a meta-analysis of prospective cohorts (51) . Similar results were also found in another meta-analysis on yogurt consumption and risk of all-cause mortality (17) . The different findings might be explained by some methodological limitations of that metaanalysis (17) . ...
... Similar results were also found in another meta-analysis on yogurt consumption and risk of all-cause mortality (17) . The different findings might be explained by some methodological limitations of that metaanalysis (17) . The authors included an ineligible study in which the relative risk was reported for the combination of yogurt and cottage cheese, not yogurt only (23) . ...
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Objectives To quantify the dose-response relation between yogurt consumption and risk of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Setting We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus databases through August 2022 for cohort studies reporting the association of yogurt consumption with mortality from all causes, CVD, and cancer. Summary relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with a random effects model. Participants 17 cohort studies (18 publications) of 896871 participants with 75791 deaths (14623 from CVD and 20926 from cancer). Results High intake of yogurt compared with low intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of deaths from all causes (pooled relative risk 0.93; 95%CI: 0.89-0.98, I ² =47.3%, n= 12 studies) and CVD (0.89; 95% CI: 0.81-0.98, I ² =33.2%, n=11), but not with cancer (0.96; 95% CI: 0.89-1.03, I ² =26.5%, n=12). Each additional serving of yogurt consumption per day was significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause (0.93; 95% CI: 0.86-0.99, I ² =63.3%, n=11) and CVD mortality (0.86; 95% CI: 0.77-0.99, I ² =36.6%, n=10). There was evidence of non-linearity between yogurt consumption and risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, and there was no further reduction in risk above 0.5 serving/day. Conclusion Summarizing earlier cohort studies, we found an inverse association between yogurt consumption and risk of all-cause and CVD mortality; however, there was no significant association between yogurt consumption and risk of cancer mortality.
... Recently, several meta-analysis of observational studies [9][10][11][12] demonstrated that the increase of one serving of dairy consumption may reduce the risk of MetS. Specifically, a meta-analysis of cohort [13] studies suggested that yogurt consumption, specifically low-fat and probiotics, was inversely associated with the risk of MetS and CVD. ...
... Moreover, one of the most popular yogurts is Greek yogurt, which contains higher protein (24 g/one serving compared to 13 g/one serving in conventional yogurt) and less carbohydrate (10 g/one serving compared to 17 g/one serving in conventional yogurt) [15]. Yogurt may also be enriched with micronutrients, including vitamins (B 6 , B 12 , D) and minerals (calcium, zinc), to improve the nutritional value. Furthermore, the addition of live bacteria strains (Bifidobacterium lactis or Lactobacillus casei, acidophilus, reuter) to a conventional yogurt produces probiotic yogurt which promotes healthy immune and digestion systems [16]. ...
... A meta-analysis of cohort studies indicated a beneficial effect of low-fat fluid dairy (milk and yogurt) [50] and yogurt consumption (200 g/day) [12] in controlling hypertension among subjects with elevated blood pressure. ...
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Purpose of Review Metabolic syndrome (MetS) comprises risk factors such as obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Here we described the outcome of various yogurt consumption, either conventional, low-fat, high-fat, Greek, or enriched with nutrients or probiotics: (1) on the parameters of MetS risk factors and (2) on the mechanisms of action of the MetS risk factors. Recent Finding The majority (25 studies) of clinical trials and meta-analyses of clinical trials reported a beneficial effect of yogurt consumption in the prevention of MetS risk. Yogurt components, such as calcium, vitamin D, proteins, and probiotics, were associated with the multiple beneficial effects on the prevention of MetS. Summary In general, yogurt consumption may be promoted within healthy dietary patterns to prevent MetS. More studies are needed to determine what type of yogurt has the greatest benefits for specific MetS risk factor prevention.
... The present study is the first to examine the association between yogurt intake and all-cause and CVD mortality in the Japanese population. Previous meta-analyses did not find yogurt to be associated with the risk of mortality [18,24,49], but one reported large heterogeneity (I 2 = 65.8%, p = 0.054) across studies included [18]. ...
... p = 0.054) across studies included [18]. One meta-analysis presented subgroup results according to study regions (4 studies from Europe and 2 studies from Asia), and no association was found for both regions [49]. One of the two Asian studies was from Iran and reported a modest inverse association between yogurt intake (per serving/day; 1 serving: 230 g) and all-cause and CVD mortality, but not cancer mortality [44], whereas the other from Japan only investigated the association with cancer mortality, and no association was found (daily vs. not daily) [25]. ...
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Purpose The association between dairy intake and mortality remains uncertain, and evidence for the Japanese population is scarce. We aimed to investigate the association between dairy intake and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Japanese adults. Methods A total of 34,161 participants (16,565 men and 17,596 women) aged 40–64 years without a history of cancer, myocardial infarction, or stroke at baseline were included in the analysis, using data from the Miyagi Cohort Study initiated in 1990. Milk, yogurt, and cheese intake were obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Total dairy intake was calculated as the sum of milk, yogurt, and cheese intake and then categorized by quartile. The outcomes were all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality risks. Results During 750,016 person-years of follow-up, the total number of deaths was 6498, including 2552 deaths due to cancer and 1693 deaths due to CVD. There was no association between total dairy intake and all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality for both men and women. We also examined the associations between subgroup dairy products and mortality. For milk and yogurt intake, our results suggest null associations. However, cheese intake was modestly associated with lower all-cause mortality in women; compared with non-consumers, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 0.89 (0.81–0.98) for 1–2 times/month, 0.88 (0.78–1.00) for 1–2 times/week, and 0.89 (0.74–1.07) for 3 times/week or almost daily ( p trend = 0.016). Conclusion Dairy intake was not associated with mortality in Japanese adults, except for limited evidence showing a modest association between cheese intake and a lower all-cause mortality risk in women.
... 3 Data from long-term prospective studies suggest that yogurt intake reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all-cause mortality. [4][5][6][7] In addition, a recent meta-analysis has reported that yogurt intake is associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. 8 Evidence indicates that probiotics such as yogurt may play a cancer-preventative role via their effect on the intestinal microbiota composition and/or intestinal barrier function. ...
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Evidence suggests a tumor-suppressive effect of the intake of yogurt, which typically contains Bifidobacterium. We hypothesized that long-term yogurt intake might be associated with colorectal cancer incidence differentially by tumor subgroups according to the amount of tissue Bifidobacterium. We utilized the prospective cohort incident-tumor biobank method and resources of two prospective cohort studies. Inverse probability weighted multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess differential associations of yogurt intake with the incidence of colorectal carcinomas subclassified by the abundance of tumor tissue Bifidobacterium. During follow-up of 132,056 individuals, we documented 3,079 incident colorectal cancer cases, including 1,121 with available tissue Bifidobacterium data. The association between long-term yogurt intake and colorectal cancer incidence differed by Bifidobacterium abundance (P heterogeneity = 0.0002). Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (with 95% confidence intervals) in individuals who consumed ≥2 servings/week (vs. <1 serving/month) of yogurt were 0.80 (0.50–1.28) for Bifidobacterium-positive tumor and 1.09 (0.81–1.46) for Bifidobacterium-negative tumor. This differential association was also observed in a subgroup analysis of proximal colon cancer (P heterogeneity = 0.018). Long-term yogurt intake may be differentially associated with the incidence of proximal colon cancer according to Bifidobacterium abundance, suggesting the antitumor effect of yogurt intake on the specific tumor subgroup.
... A modest, beneficial effect on blood pressure was reported in most studies. We identified 10 new systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses study published regarding the intake of dairy and all-cause mortality (35,37,(105)(106)(107)(108)(109)(110)(111)(112). Most of the studies found no association between total dairy intake and all-cause mortality. ...
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Milk and dairy products are major sources of protein, calcium, and other micronutrients. Milk and dairy products contribute with approximately half of the total intake of saturated fat in the Nordic and Baltic diets. Saturated fat is an important determinant of plasma total and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations, and a causal relationship between high LDL-cholesterol and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease has consistently been documented. The aim of this scoping review is to describe the evidence for the role of milk and dairy products for health-related outcomes as a basis for setting and updating food-based dietary guidelines. Two qualified systematic reviews were included (World Cancer Research Fund and a systematic review for the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 2020). In addition, systematic reviews published between January 2011 and January 2022 were considered, screened (555 records) and evaluated (159 records) for this review. The systematic reviews suggest that milk or dairy consumption is not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and dyslipidaemia. Current evidence suggests an inverse association with some cardiometabolic risk factors, such as total and LDL-cholesterol, especially regarding fermented dairy products (i.e. yogurt and cheese). There was evidence of an association between intake of dairy products and reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Some studies reported an inverse association between intake of dairy and type 2 diabetes or markers of impaired glucose homeostasis, especially for low-fat dairy, yoghurt, and cheese. Most studies suggest that intake of milk or dairy is not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular risk and some suggestions of inverse association, especially with low-fat products and fermented dairy products, were found with respect to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Milk or dairy products are important dietary sources of calcium and iodine, and are fully compatible with a healthy dietary pattern.
... In this regard, regular consumption of yogurt (≥ 2 servings/week) along with a healthy diet was associated with a lower risk for developing CVD in hypertensive subjects (Buendia et al. 2018). Similarly, Gao et al. (2020) reported that a daily intake of 200 g per day of yogurt was associated with 5 and 8% reduction of all-cause and CVD mortalities, respectively. Also, Zhang et al. (2020) concluded that yogurt consumption significantly reduced the risk of CVD by 22%. ...
Article
In vitro and in vivo studies have reported the potential cardioprotective effects of fermented milks (FM). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the inhibitory activities of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), thrombin enzyme (TI) and micellar solubility of cholesterol of FM after 24 and 48 h of fermentation with Limosilactobacillus fermentum (J20, J23, J28 and J38), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (J25) or Lactiplantibacillus pentosus (J34 and J37) exposed to simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Results showed that FM with J20 and J23 at 48 h of fermentation presented significantly (p < 0.05) higher degree of hydrolysis than other FM, and were not significantly different (p > 0.05) between them. Conversely, peptide relative abundance was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in FM with J20 than FM with J23. Moreover, IC50 (protein concentration necessary to inhibit enzyme activity by 50%) for ACE inhibition were 0.33 and 0.5 mg/mL for FM with J20 and J23, respectively. For TI inhibition, the IC50 were 0.3 and 0.24 mg/mL for FM with J20 and J23, respectively. Results exhibited 51 and 74% inhibition of micellar solubility cholesterol for FM with J20 and J23, respectively. Therefore, these results showed that not only peptide abundance, but also specific peptides might be responsible for these potential cardioprotective effects.
... and cancer mortality (HR=0.97) [88]. However, consuming yogurt ≥200 g/d was significantly linked with a lower all-cause (HR=0.88) ...
Article
Background: Cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally. Besides lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, and other risk factors, poor nutrition and unhealthy/unbalanced diets play an important role in CVD. Objective: This review examined data on all issues of the CV-health benefits of a balanced diet, with tabulation of nutritional data and health-authority recommendations and pictorial illustration of the main features of a CV-healthy diet. Methods: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for relevant studies and reviews on diet and CV health. Results: For a long time, there has been evidence, corroborated by recent findings, that pro-vegetarian diets have a beneficial influence on serum lipid levels, markers of inflammation and endothelial function, prooxidant-antioxidant balance, and gut microbiome, all probably contributing to reduced CV risk. Worries about the nutritional adequacy of vegetarian diets are circumvented by obtaining certain nutrients lacking or found in lower amounts in plants than in animal foods, by consuming a wide variety of healthy plant foods and through intake of oral supplements or fortified foods. Well-balanced diets, such as the Mediterranean or the Dietary-Approaches-to-Stop-Hypertension diets, provide CV-health benefits. Nevertheless, a broad variety of plant-based diets with low/minimal animal food intake may allow for the personalized and culturally adjusted application of dietary recommendations contributing to the maintenance of CV health. Conclusion: Universal adoption of a balanced CV-healthy diet can reduce global, CV and other mortality by ~20%. This requires world-wide programs of information for and education of the public, starting with school children and expanding to all groups, sectors, and levels.
... Chronic, unresolved inflammation underlies the risk of many diseases. A meta-analysis of eight cohort studies encompassing n = 235 676 participants concluded that increased yogurt intake is associated with reduced allcause and cardiovascular disease mortality [14]. In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study, a case-cohort study of n = 10 529 coronary heart disease cases and n = 16 730 controls determined that saturated fat intake from yogurt was associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease [15]. ...
... It is a mixture of yogurt (usually from sheep or goat milk), vegetable oil, freshly cut cucumber, garlic, salt, and dill [6,7]. It is generally acknowledged for its health properties deriving mainly from the garlic and cucumber, which exhibit antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity, besides their benefits on the cardiovascular and immune system [2,8,9]. In addition, due to its taste, tzatziki has been traditionally consumed for more than a hundred years as an appetizing dish or accompanying meals rich in fat. ...
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Tzatziki is a deli salad widely consumed in the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan countries, and it is acknowledged for its health benefits. So far, it is proved to exhibit extreme resistance to microbial spoilage by (pathogenic) microorganisms and microbial self-stabilization, but no research was carried out regarding its oxidative stability despite the fact that it contains a large amount of lipids. In this study, the factor that affects the oxidative stability of tzatziki was exploited. Different samples of tzatziki salad were prepared and stored for 16 or 27 days, depending on the conducted experiment. They varied in the type of yogurt (set yogurt or traditional Greek-style yogurt), the type of oil (olive oil or soybean oil), and the addition or not of preservatives, garlic, and cucumber. Samples were analyzed in terms of oxidative stability (by the Rancimat method), colony-forming units, and tocopherol content throughout the storage period. Among the examined parameters, no correlation between the tocopherol content and oxidative stability was recorded. However, a strong correlation between the microbial population and the oxidative stability was recorded. Therefore, this correlation can be used to prepare tzatziki salads with increased shelf life and decreased flavor deterioration (due to oxidation). Moreover, such correlations should be further exploited for other foods so as to promote their stability.
... With regard to yogurt, the consumption of 200 g per day was associated with a significant 5% lower total mortality and with an 8% risk reduction of total CVD events [32,33]. A further confirmation of the inverse relationship between a high yogurt consumption and CVD comes from a recent meta-analysis of 10 cohort studies conducted by Zhang et al. [29] that found a statistically significant 22% lower risk of CV events in the high vs. low consumption group. ...
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Limited consumption of dairy foods and use of low-fat products is recommended for cardiovascular (CV) prevention; however, other features besides fat content modulate their metabolic effects. We analyze updated evidence on the relationship of different dairy products (low/full-fat dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt) with CVD by reviewing meta-analyses of cohort studies and individual prospective cohort studies with CV hard endpoints (CVD/CHD incidence/mortality), together with meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials exploring the effect of dairy on major CV risk factors. The analyses provide evidence that moderate dairy consumption (up to 200 g/day, globally) has no detrimental effects on CV health and that their effect depends more on the food type (cheese, yogurt, milk) than on the fat content. These data expand current knowledge and may inform revision of current guidelines for CVD prevention.
... The effect was more pronounced in case-control studies than in cohort studies. The conclusion of this study is generally in line with evidence from previous meta-analyses that suggested an inverse association of yogurt consumption with the risk of other diseases (33,43,(72)(73)(74)(75). Over the past few years, the beneficial effects of yogurt consumption on lowing risk of CRC have been supported by a growing number of human epidemiological studies (30,45,46,51,52,62). ...
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Background: Yogurt is known to be nutrient-rich and probiotic content, which gather optimism due to their potential role in preventing and managing cancers. The effect of yogurt consumption on colorectal cancer (CRC) is inconsistent. Objective: This study aims to investigate the association of yogurt consumption with the risk of CRC. Methods: Three databases, namely, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase, were searched for all relevant studies from July 2021 on the association of yogurt consumption with CRC risk. We pooled the odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% CIs using a random-effects meta-analysis to assess the association. Results: Finally, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria and were chosen in the meta-analysis. Yogurt consumption was significant with lower risk of CRC risk in the overall comparison (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81–0.94), in the cohort studies (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86–0.97), and case-control studies (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65–0.85). With regard to subgroup analyses by study region, cancer type, publication year, and sex, yogurt consumption significantly decreased overall CRC, colon cancer, and distal colon cancer risks. In stratified analyses, we observed significantly decreased CRC risk in Europe and Africa and published after 2010 and overall population. Sensitivity analysis indicated the result is stable and there is no publication bias in the meta-analysis. Conclusions: Overall, this study indicated that yogurt intake was related to a decreased risk of CRC.
... According to a dose-response metanalysis of 17 prospective cohort studies the consumption of 200 ml of milk/day is associated with a lower risk for overall CV disease (RR Z 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89, 0.99) [51]. A recently published metanalysis of 8 prospective cohort studies, showed that a 200 g/day consumption of yogurt is inversely and statistically significant associated with allcause mortality (HR Z 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92, 1.00) and CV disease mortality (HR Z 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.98) [52]. These findings are in line with a previous metanalysis, suggesting that consumption of !200 g yogurt/day might be associated with lower incident risk for CV disease [53]. ...
Article
Background and Aims The association between dietary sugars and vascular damage has been scarcely examined out of the context of established cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the association between different types of sugars with subclinical atheromatosis and arteriosclerosis, in individuals free of cardiovascular disease being, however, at moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk. Methods and Results Two 24-hour dietary recalls were conducted to estimate sugars intake. Subclinical atheromatosis was assessed by B-mode ultrasonography and arteriosclerosis (arterial stiffness) via tonometry (carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship of quartiles of total sugars, monosaccharides and disaccharides with atheromatosis and arteriosclerosis, adjusting for potential confounders [Odds Ratio(95%Confidence Interval)]. In 901 participants (52.4±13.8years, 45.2% males), total sugars intake was not associated with any type of subclinical vascular damage. Subjects at 4th quartile of lactose intake (15.3±5.5g/day) had lower probability to present atheromatosis compared to those at 1st quartile (0.00±0.01g/day) even in the fully adjusted model [0.586 (0.353-0.974)]. Subjects at 3rd quartile of total disaccharides intake and particularly sucrose (15.1±2.2g/day) had higher probability to present arteriosclerosis compared to those at 1st quartile (3.0±1.9g/day) even after adjustment for all potential confounders [2.213 (1.110-4.409)]. Conclusions Overall, the present data suggest a distinct role of each type of sugars on vascular damage. These observations highlight the need for further studies investigating not only foods rich in sugars, but sugars as separate components of food as they probably contribute via different ways on the development of arterial pathologies.
Article
Background Yoghurt is a commonly consumed fermented food recommended by many guidelines. Yoghurt consumption can contribute to the intake of multiple nutrients and reduce the risk of several diseases. However, prospective evidence is limited on the associations between full/low-fat yoghurt consumption and mortality risk. In this prospective cohort study, we aimed to assess the dose-dependent associations between full/low-fat yoghurt intake and all-cause or cause-specific mortality. Methods We enrolled 186 168 participants from the UK Biobank who had joined the study between 2006 and 2010 and were followed up until 2022. We obtained data on self-reported intake of full/low-fat yoghurt and mortality from all causes and specific causes of death, including cancers and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We then used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to evaluate the associations between full-fat and low-fat yoghurt intake and mortality. Lastly, we conducted subgroup and sensitivity analyses to examine the robustness of our findings. Results A total of 9402 deaths occurred during a mean follow-up of 13.4 years, including 1687 CVD-related and 5073 cancer-related deaths. Relative to non-consumers, the HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality risk in participants consuming >0–50, 50–100, and >100 g of full-fat yoghurt a day were 0.82 (95% CI = 0.72, 0.93), 0.97 (95% CI = 0.86, 1.09), and 0.96 (95% CI = 0.84, 1.1) respectively. The corresponding HR estimates relative to non-consumers for participants consuming low-fat yoghurt were 0.88 (95% CI = 0.81, 0.95), 0.91 (95% CI = 0.85, 0.98), and 0.95 (95% CI = 0.89, 1.01), respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated women who had moderate consumption of full-fat yoghurt had lower all-cause mortality risk, while men consuming low-fat yoghurt had lower all-cause mortality risk. Conclusions Moderate consumption of full-fat and low-fat yoghurt was correlated with decreased all-cause mortality. Future cohort studies are warranted to verify the potential of adopting yoghurt consumption as part of a healthy diet to reduce mortality.
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The present review aims to provide specific dietary guidelines based on scientific evidence to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In general, a high daily consumption of plants based food (whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts) is recommended compared to foods of animal origin, especially red and processed meats, moderate use of extra virgin olive oil as a culinary fat compared to other types of fats and oils, and low salt intake, especially from processed foods. Despite the scientific evidence and the nutritional education carried out in primary care, CVD continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide, which highlights the need to develop attractive and motivating approaches that enable the population to adhere definitively to healthy habits.
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With a growing number of prospective cohort studies, an updated dose–response meta-analysis of milk and dairy products with all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD) or cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been conducted. PubMed, Embase and Scopus were searched for articles published up to September 2016. Random-effect meta-analyses with summarised dose–response data were performed for total (high-fat/low-fat) dairy, milk, fermented dairy, cheese and yogurt. Non-linear associations were investigated using the spine models and heterogeneity by subgroup analyses. A total of 29 cohort studies were available for meta-analysis, with 938,465 participants and 93,158 mortality, 28,419 CHD and 25,416 CVD cases. No associations were found for total (high-fat/low-fat) dairy, and milk with the health outcomes of mortality, CHD or CVD. Inverse associations were found between total fermented dairy (included sour milk products, cheese or yogurt; per 20 g/day) with mortality (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.99; I² = 94.4%) and CVD risk (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.99; I² = 87.5%). Further analyses of individual fermented dairy of cheese and yogurt showed cheese to have a 2% lower risk of CVD (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.95–1.00; I² = 82.6%) per 10 g/day, but not yogurt. All of these marginally inverse associations of totally fermented dairy and cheese were attenuated in sensitivity analyses by removing one large Swedish study. This meta-analysis combining data from 29 prospective cohort studies demonstrated neutral associations between dairy products and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. For future studies it is important to investigate in more detail how dairy products can be replaced by other foods. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10654-017-0243-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Purpose: Dairy products have been reported to have various beneficial effects on human health. Although some previous studies have shown relationships between dairy consumption and depressive symptoms, the results of these studies were not consistent. This study aimed to investigate the association between frequency of low- and whole-fat dairy consumption, and depressive symptoms. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 1159 Japanese adults aged 19-83 years. Dietary intake was assessed using a brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by a self-rating depression scale (SDS) (the presence of depressive symptoms was defined as an SDS score ≥45 points). Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between the frequency of low- and whole-fat dairy consumption and depressive symptoms. Results: Higher frequency of low-fat dairy consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms. In the final adjusted model, the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for prevalence of depressive symptoms when no consumption of low-fat dairy was compared to moderate (1-3 times per week) and high (≥4 times/week) frequencies of low-fat dairy consumption were 0.96 (0.71, 1.30) and 0.51 (0.35, 0.77), respectively (p for the trend = 0.004). No relationships were observed between the consumption of whole-fat dairy and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The current results indicate that a higher frequency of low-fat dairy consumption may be associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.
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Influenza virus (IFV) is a major respiratory pathogen of global importance, and the cause of a high degree of morbidity and mortality, especially in high-risk populations such as infants, elderly, and immunocompromised hosts. Given its high capacity to change antigenically, acquired immunity is often not effective to limit IFV infection and therefore vaccination must be constantly redesigned to achieve effective protection. Improvement of respiratory and systemic innate immune mechanisms has been proposed to reduce the incidence and severity of IFV disease. In the last decade, several research works have demonstrated that microbes with the capacity to modulate the mucosal immune system (immunobiotics) are a potential alternative to beneficially modulate the outcome of IFV infection. This review provides an update of the current status on the modulation of respiratory immunity by orally and nasally administered immunobiotics, and their beneficial impact on IFV clearance and inflammatory-mediated lung tissue damage. In particular, we describe the research of our group that investigated the influence of immunobiotics on inflammation–coagulation interactions during IFV infection. Studies have clearly demonstrated that hostile inflammation is accompanied by dysfunctional coagulation in respiratory IFV disease, and our investigations have proved that some immunobiotic strains are able to reduce viral disease severity through their capacity to modulate the immune-coagulative responses in the respiratory tract.
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Background Dairy products are major components of daily diet and the association between consumption of dairy products and public health issues has captured great attention. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the association between dairy products intake and cancer mortality risk. Methods After a literature search in PubMed and EMBASE, 11 population-based cohort studies involving 778,929 individuals were considered eligible and included in the analyses. Data were extracted and the association between dairy products intake and cancer mortality risk was estimated by calculating pooled relative risks (RRs) and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses based on regions, genders and dairy types were performed as well. Potential dose–response relationship was further explored by adopting the generalized least squares (GLST) method. ResultsTotal dairy products intake was not associated with all cancer mortality risk, with the pooled RR of 0.99 (95 % CI 0.92–1.07, p = 0.893). Subgroup analyses showed that the pooled RRs were 0.97 (95 % CI 0.92–1.03, p = 0.314) for milk, 0.88 (95 % CI 0.71–1.10, p = 0.271) for yogurt, 1.23 (95 % CI 0.94–1.61, p = 0.127) for cheese and 1.13 (95 % CI 0.89–1.44, p = 0.317) for butter in male and female, however the pooled RR was 1.50 (95 % CI 1.03–2.17, p = 0.032) for whole milk in male, which was limited to prostate cancer. Further dose–response analyses were performed and we found that increase of whole milk (serving/day) induced elevated prostate cancer mortality risk significantly, with the RR of 1.43 (95 % CI 1.13–1.81, p = 0.003). Conclusions Total dairy products intake have no significant impact on increased all cancer mortality risk, while low total dairy intake even reduced relative risk based on the non-linear model. However, whole milk intake in men contributed to elevated prostate cancer mortality risk significantly. Furthermore, a linear dose–response relationship existed between increase of whole milk intake and increase of prostate cancer mortality risk.
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This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity effects of yogurt fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum Q180 in diet-induced obese rats. To examine the effects, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed on six different diets, as follows: Group A was fed an ND and orally administrated saline solution; Group B, an HFD and orally administrated saline solution; Group C, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt fermented by ABT-3 and L. plantarum Q180; Group D, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt with added Garcinia cambogia extract, fermented by ABT-3 and L. plantarum Q180; Group E, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt fermented by L. plantarum Q180; and Group F, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt with added Garcinia cambogia extract, fermented by L. plantarum Q180 for eight weeks. After eight weeks, the rate of increase in bodyweight was 5.14%, 6.5%, 3.35% and 10.81% lower in groups C, D, E and F, respectively, compared with group B; the epididymal fat weight of groups E and F was significantly lower than that of group B; and the level of triglyceride and leptin was significantly reduced in groups C, D, E and F compared to group B. In addition, the level of AST was reduced in group C compared to the other groups. To examine the effects of yogurt on the reduction of adipocyte size, the adipocyte sizes were measured. The number of large-size adipose tissue was less distributed in groups A, C, D, E and F than in group B.
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Results from epidemiological studies of milk consumption and mortality are inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies assessing the association of non-fermented and fermented milk consumption with mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. PubMed was searched until August 2015. A two-stage, random-effects, dose-response meta-analysis was used to combine study-specific results. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed with the I² statistic. During follow-up periods ranging from 4.1 to 25 years, 70,743 deaths occurred among 367,505 participants. The range of non-fermented and fermented milk consumption and the shape of the associations between milk consumption and mortality differed considerably between studies. There was substantial heterogeneity among studies of non-fermented milk consumption in relation to mortality from all causes (12 studies; I² = 94%), cardiovascular disease (five studies; I² = 93%), and cancer (four studies; I² = 75%) as well as among studies of fermented milk consumption and all-cause mortality (seven studies; I² = 88%). Thus, estimating pooled hazard ratios was not appropriate. Heterogeneity among studies was observed in most subgroups defined by sex, country, and study quality. In conclusion, we observed no consistent association between milk consumption and all-cause or cause-specific mortality.
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This meta-analysis examined the effect of probiotics on the reduction of lipid components and co-existing risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. All randomised controlled trials published in English on PubMed and Scopus from 2000 to 2014 were systematically searched. Using the PEDro scale to assess the quality of studies, a total of 15 studies with 788 subjects were selected for inclusion in the analysis. The mean difference and effect size with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted from individual studies. Statistically significant pooled effects of probiotics were found on reduction of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and inflammatory markers. Subgroup analysis revealed statistically significant effects of probiotics on total cholesterol and LDL when the medium was fermented milk or yogurt (P<0.001) compared to capsule form, consumption was at least eight weeks in duration (P<0.001), and the probiotics consisted of multiple strains (P<0.001) rather than a single strain. A significant reduction was found in LDL in trials which contained Lacidophilus strain (P<0.001) compared to other types of strains. Our findings suggest that probiotic supplementation use is effective in lowering the lipid level and co-existing factors associated with cardiovascular disease.
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Yogurt has been a part of the human diet for several millennia and goes by many names throughout the world. The word "yogurt" is believed to have come from the Turkish word "yoğurmak," which means to thicken, coagulate, or curdle. While references to the health-promoting properties of yogurt date back to 6000 BC in Indian Ayurvedic scripts, it was not until the 20(th) century that Stamen Grigorov, a Bulgarian medical student, attributed the benefits to lactic acid bacteria. Today, most yogurt is fermented milk that is acidified with viable and well-defined bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles). While patterns of yogurt consumption vary greatly from country to country, consumption is generally low. In the United States and Brazil, for example, only 6% of the population consume yogurt on a daily basis. Low consumption of yogurt represents a missed opportunity to contribute to a healthy lifestyle, as yogurt provides a good to excellent source of highly bioavailable protein and an excellent source of calcium as well as a source of probiotics that may provide a range of health benefits. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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To examine whether yogurt consumption is associated with a healthier dietary pattern and with a better cardio-metabolic risk profile among healthy individuals classified on the basis of their body mass index (BMI). A 91-item food frequency questionnaire, including data on yogurt consumption, was administered to 664 subjects from the INFOGENE study. After principal component analysis, two factors were retained, thus classified as the Prudent and Western dietary patterns. Yogurt was a significant contributor to the Prudent dietary pattern. Moreover, yogurt consumption was associated with lower body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist circumference and tended to be associated with a lower BMI. Consumers had lower levels of fasting total cholesterol and insulin. Consumers of yogurt had a positive Prudent dietary pattern mean score, while the opposite trend was observed in non-consumers of yogurt. Overweight/obese individuals who were consumers of yogurts exhibited a more favorable cardio-metabolic profile characterized by lower plasma triglyceride and insulin levels than non-consumers within the same range of BMI. There was no difference in total yogurt consumption between normal-weight individuals and overweight/obese individuals. However, normal-weight subjects had more daily servings of high-fat yogurt and less daily servings of fat-free yogurt compared to overweight/obese individuals. Being a significant contributor to the Prudent dietary pattern, yogurt consumption may be associated with healthy eating. Also, yogurt consumption may be associated with lower anthropometric indicators and a more beneficial cardio-metabolic risk profile in overweight/obese individuals.
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Associations between dietary patterns, metabolic and inflammatory markers and gut microbiota are yet to be elucidated.We aimed to characterize dietary patterns in overweight and obese subjects and evaluate the different dietary patterns in relation to metabolic and inflammatory variables as well as gut microbiota.Dietary patterns, plasma and adipose tissue markers, and gut microbiota were evaluated in a group of 45 overweight and obese subjects (6 men and 39 women). A group of 14 lean subjects were also evaluated as a reference group.Three clusters of dietary patterns were identified in overweight/obese subjects. Cluster 1 had the least healthy eating behavior (highest consumption of potatoes, confectionary and sugary drinks, and the lowest consumption of fruits that was associated also with low consumption of yogurt, and water). This dietary pattern was associated with the highest LDL cholesterol, plasma soluble CD14 (p = 0.01) a marker of systemic inflammation but the lowest accumulation of CD163+ macrophages with anti-inflammatory profile in adipose tissue (p = 0.05). Cluster 3 had the healthiest eating behavior (lower consumption of confectionary and sugary drinks, and highest consumption of fruits but also yogurts and soups). Subjects in this Cluster had the lowest inflammatory markers (sCD14) and the highest anti-inflammatory adipose tissue CD163+ macrophages. Dietary intakes, insulin sensitivity and some inflammatory markers (plasma IL6) in Cluster 3 were close to those of lean subjects. Cluster 2 was in-between clusters 1 and 3 in terms of healthfulness. The 7 gut microbiota groups measured by qPCR were similar across the clusters. However, the healthiest dietary cluster had the highest microbial gene richness, as evaluated by quantitative metagenomics.A healthier dietary pattern was associated with lower inflammatory markers as well as greater gut microbiota richness in overweight and obese subjects.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01314690.
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Background: We investigated whether prediagnostic reported intake of dairy products and dietary calcium is associated with colorectal cancer survival. Methods: Data from 3,859 subjects with colorectal cancer (42.1% male; mean age at diagnosis, 64.2 ± 8.1 years) in the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort were analyzed. Intake of dairy products and dietary calcium was assessed at baseline (1992-2000) using validated, country-specific dietary questionnaires. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to calculate HR and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for colorectal cancer-specific death (n = 1,028) and all-cause death (n = 1,525) for different quartiles of intake. Results: The consumption of total dairy products was not statistically significantly associated with risk of colorectal cancer-specific death (adjusted HR Q4 vs. Q1, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.97-1.43) nor that of all-cause death (Q4 vs. Q1, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.98-1.36). Multivariable-adjusted HRs for colorectal cancer-specific death (Q4 vs. Q1) were 1.21 (95% CI, 0.99-1.48) for milk, 1.09 (95% CI, 0.88-1.34) for yoghurt, and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.76-1.14) for cheese. The intake of dietary calcium was not associated with the risk of colorectal cancer-specific death (adjusted HR Q4 vs. Q1, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.81-1.26) nor that of all-cause death (Q4 vs. Q1, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.84-1.21). Conclusions: The prediagnostic reported intake of dairy products and dietary calcium is not associated with disease-specific or all-cause risk of death in patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Impact: The impact of diet on cancer survival is largely unknown. This study shows that despite its inverse association with colorectal cancer risk, the prediagnostic intake of dairy and dietary calcium does not affect colorectal cancer survival.
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OBJECTIVE Previous meta-analyses identified an inverse association of coffee consumption with the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, an updated meta-analysis is needed because new studies comparing the trends of association for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee have since been published.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS PubMed and Embase were searched for cohort or nested case-control studies that assessed the relationship of coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes from 1966 to February 2013. A restricted cubic spline random-effects model was used.RESULTSTwenty-eight prospective studies were included in the analysis, with 1,109,272 study participants and 45,335 cases of type 2 diabetes. The follow-up duration ranged from 10 months to 20 years. Compared with no or rare coffee consumption, the relative risk (RR; 95% CI) for diabetes was 0.92 (0.90-0.94), 0.85 (0.82-0.88), 0.79 (0.75-0.83), 0.75 (0.71-0.80), 0.71 (0.65-0.76), and 0.67 (0.61-0.74) for 1-6 cups/day, respectively. The RR of diabetes for a 1 cup/day increase was 0.91 (0.89-0.94) for caffeinated coffee consumption and 0.94 (0.91-0.98) for decaffeinated coffee consumption (P for difference = 0.17).CONCLUSIONS Coffee consumption was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes in a dose-response manner. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee was associated with reduced diabetes risk.
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The consumption of dairy products may influence the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but inconsistent findings have been reported. Moreover, large variation in the types of dairy intake has not yet been fully explored. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the dose-response association of dairy products intake and T2DM risk. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus for studies of dairy products intake and T2DM risk published up to the end of October 2012. Random-effects models were used to estimate summary relative risk (RR) statistics. Dose-response relations were evaluated using data from different dairy products in each study. We included 14 articles of cohort studies that reported RR estimates and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of T2DM with dairy products intake. We found an inverse linear association of consumption of total dairy products (13 studies), low-fat dairy products (8 studies), cheese (7 studies) and yogurt (7 studies) and risk of T2DM. The pooled RRs were 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.97) and 0.88 (0.84-0.93) for 200 g/day total and low-fat dairy consumption, respectively. The pooled RRs were 0.80 (0.69-0.93) and 0.91 (0.82-1.00) for 30 g/d cheese and 50 g/d yogurt consumption, respectively. We also found a nonlinear association of total and low-fat dairy intake and T2DM risk, and the inverse association appeared to be strongest within 200 g/d intake. A modest increase in daily intake of dairy products such as low fat dairy, cheese and yogurt may contribute to the prevention of T2DM, which needs confirmation in randomized controlled trials.
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Because of the pressure for timely, informed decisions in public health and clinical practice and the explosion of information in the scientific literature, research results must be synthesized. Meta-analyses are increasingly used to address this problem, and they often evaluate observational studies. A workshop was held in Atlanta, Ga, in April 1997, to examine the reporting of meta-analyses of observational studies and to make recommendations to aid authors, reviewers, editors, and readers. Twenty-seven participants were selected by a steering committee, based on expertise in clinical practice, trials, statistics, epidemiology, social sciences, and biomedical editing. Deliberations of the workshop were open to other interested scientists. Funding for this activity was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We conducted a systematic review of the published literature on the conduct and reporting of meta-analyses in observational studies using MEDLINE, Educational Research Information Center (ERIC), PsycLIT, and the Current Index to Statistics. We also examined reference lists of the 32 studies retrieved and contacted experts in the field. Participants were assigned to small-group discussions on the subjects of bias, searching and abstracting, heterogeneity, study categorization, and statistical methods. From the material presented at the workshop, the authors developed a checklist summarizing recommendations for reporting meta-analyses of observational studies. The checklist and supporting evidence were circulated to all conference attendees and additional experts. All suggestions for revisions were addressed. The proposed checklist contains specifications for reporting of meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology, including background, search strategy, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Use of the checklist should improve the usefulness of meta-analyses for authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and decision makers. An evaluation plan is suggested and research areas are explored.
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Few prospective studies have examined the effects of different types of dairy food on the risks of type 2 diabetes, CHD and mortality. We examined whether intakes of total dairy, high-fat dairy, low-fat dairy, milk and fermented dairy products were related to these outcomes in the Whitehall II prospective cohort study. At baseline, dairy consumption was assessed by FFQ among 4526 subjects (72 % men) with a mean age 56 (sd 6) years. Death certificates and medical records were used to ascertain CHD mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction. Incident diabetes was detected by the oral glucose tolerance test or self-report. Incidence data were analysed using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for lifestyle and dietary factors. During approximately 10 years of follow-up, 273 diabetes, 323 CHD and 237 all-cause mortality cases occurred. In multivariable models, intakes of total dairy and types of dairy products were not significantly associated with incident diabetes or CHD (all P values for trend >0·1). Fermented dairy products was inversely associated with overall mortality (hazard ratios approximately 0·7 in the middle and highest tertiles; P for trend < 0·01) but not with incident CHD or diabetes (P>0·3). In conclusion, intakes of total dairy and types of dairy products showed no consistent relationship with incident diabetes, CHD or all-cause mortality.
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Two methods for point and interval estimation of relative risk for log-linear exposure-response relations in meta-analyses of published ordinal categorical exposure-response data have been proposed. The authors compared the results of a meta-analysis of published data using each of the 2 methods with the results that would be obtained if the primary data were available and investigated the circumstances under which the approximations required for valid use of each meta-analytic method break down. They then extended the methods to handle nonlinear exposure-response relations. In the present article, methods are illustrated using studies of the relation between alcohol consumption and colorectal and lung cancer risks from the ongoing Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer. In these examples, the differences between the results of a meta-analysis of summarized published data and the pooled analysis of the individual original data were small. However, incorrectly assuming no correlation between relative risk estimates for exposure categories from the same study gave biased confidence intervals for the trend and biased P values for the tests for nonlinearity and between-study heterogeneity when there was strong confounding by other model covariates. The authors illustrate the use of 2 publicly available user-friendly programs (Stata and SAS) to implement meta-analysis for dose-response data.
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Milk intake is widely recommended for a healthy diet. Epidemiological studies have suggested that the consumption of dairy products may be associated with a reduction in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A meta-analysis was conducted to elucidate the association between dairy products consumption and T2DM. A systematical literature search was done through the Medline database and seven related cohort studies were identified. The adjusted relative risks (RRs) with the highest and the lowest categories from each study were extracted to calculate the combined RR. A least-square trend estimation was applied to assess the dose-response relationships. A combined RR of 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.79-0.92) was revealed on T2DM risk associated to dairy intake, with little evidence of heterogeneity. For subgroup analysis, a combined RR was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.74-0.90), 1.00 (95% CI, 0.89-1.10), 0.95 (95% CI, 0.86-1.05) and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74-0.93) for the intake of low-fat dairy, high-fat dairy, whole milk and yogurt, respectively. Dose-response analysis showed that T2DM risk could be reduced 5% for total dairy products and 10% for low-fat dairy products. An inverse association of daily intake of dairy products, especially low-fat dairy, with T2DM was revealed, indicating a beneficial effect of dairy consumption in the prevention of T2DM development.
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Recent evidence suggests that there is a link between metabolic diseases and bacterial populations in the gut. The aim of this study was to assess the differences between the composition of the intestinal microbiota in humans with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic persons as control. The study included 36 male adults with a broad range of age and body-mass indices (BMIs), among which 18 subjects were diagnosed with diabetes type 2. The fecal bacterial composition was investigated by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and in a subgroup of subjects (N = 20) by tag-encoded amplicon pyrosequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The proportions of phylum Firmicutes and class Clostridia were significantly reduced in the diabetic group compared to the control group (P = 0.03). Furthermore, the ratios of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes as well as the ratios of Bacteroides-Prevotella group to C. coccoides-E. rectale group correlated positively and significantly with plasma glucose concentration (P = 0.04) but not with BMIs. Similarly, class Betaproteobacteria was highly enriched in diabetic compared to non-diabetic persons (P = 0.02) and positively correlated with plasma glucose (P = 0.04). The results of this study indicate that type 2 diabetes in humans is associated with compositional changes in intestinal microbiota. The level of glucose tolerance should be considered when linking microbiota with metabolic diseases such as obesity and developing strategies to control metabolic diseases by modifying the gut microbiota.
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Obesity is now classically characterized by a cluster of several metabolic disorders, and by a low grade inflammation. The evidence that the gut microbiota composition can be different between healthy and or obese and type 2 diabetic patients has led to the study of this environmental factor as a key link between the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases and the gut microbiota. Several mechanisms are proposed linking events occurring in the colon and the regulation of energy metabolism, such as i.e. the energy harvest from the diet, the synthesis of gut peptides involved in energy homeostasis (GLP-1, PYY...), and the regulation of fat storage. Moreover, the development of obesity and metabolic disorders following a high-fat diet may be associated to the innate immune system. Indeed, high-fat diet feeding triggers the development of obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis by mechanisms dependent of the LPS and/or the fatty acids activation of the CD14/TLR4 receptor complex. Importantly, fat feeding is also associated with the development of metabolic endotoxemia in human subjects and participates in the low-grade inflammation, a mechanism associated with the development of atherogenic markers. Finally, data obtained in experimental models and human subjects are in favour of the fact that changing the gut microbiota (with prebiotics and/or probiotics) may participate in the control of the development of metabolic diseases associated with obesity. Thus, it would be useful to find specific strategies for modifying gut microbiota to impact on the occurrence of metabolic diseases.
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Certain fermented dairy milk products may have beneficial effects on plasma cholesterol levels. However, a number of studies have produced conflicting results as to whether dietary supplementation by a probiotic dairy product containing the bacteria culture Causido(R) reduces plasma cholesterol. To conduct a meta-analysis of intervention studies to evaluate the effect of the Causido(R) culture on plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol. THE PROBIOTIC MILK PRODUCT: The yoghurt product Gaio(R) is fermented with Causido(R), composed of one strain of Enterococcus faecium (human species) with the proposed cholesterol-lowering effect, and two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus. STUDY INCLUSION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Six studies were identified from a literature search and from the yoghurt producer. All studies met the inclusion criteria. Summary data for plasma concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were extracted from the original publications or by personal request to the authors. Data from 4-8 weeks of treatment duration was used. We performed a traditional meta-analysis where mean differences between intervention and control of the pre-post changes in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were calculated, as well as 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In the six studies included in the meta-analysis, the Gaio(R) interventions produced changes in total cholesterol above those of the control groups ranging from -0.02 to -1.02 mmol/l and in LDL-cholesterol ranging from -0.02 to -1.15 mmol/l. After inclusion of an open-label study, the meta-analysis of the double-blind studies showed that Gaio(R) as compared to the control group changed total cholesterol by -0.22 mmol/l (95% CI: -0.35 to -0.08, P<0.01) and LDL-cholesterol by -0.20 mmol/l (95% CI: -0.33 to -0.06, P<0.005). The outcome was essentially the same if all studies were included. The present meta-analysis of controlled short-term intervention studies shows that the fermented yoghurt product produced a 4% decrease in total cholesterol and a 5% decrease in LDL-cholesterol when the open-label study is excluded. To demonstrate sustained effects on blood lipids, long-term studies are required. MD Foods A/S, Denmark.
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Epidemiological studies suggest that milk consumption and dietary intake of dairy proteins are inversely related to the risk for hypertension. Also, some intervention studies have shown a blood pressure-lowering effect of milk products and dairy proteins. Milk peptides are formed from milk proteins by enzymatic breakdown by digestive enzymes or by the proteinases formed by lactobacilli during the fermentation of milk. Several milk peptides have been shown to have antihypertensive effects in animal and in clinical studies. The most studied mechanism underlying the antihypertensive effects of milk peptides is inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme. Milk peptides may also have other additional mechanisms to lower blood pressure such as opioid-like activities and mineral-binding and antithrombotic properties. The future challenge is to identify the antihypertensive components in milk and their mechanisms of action and thus to find more possibilities for using these constituents and products as a dietary treatment of hypertension.
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Relationships between consumption of dairy products and death from various types of cancer are largely unknown. Between April 1992 and July 1995, a baseline survey was conducted for 11,349 residents in 12 communities in Japan, which included collection of demographic data and a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire inquiring about three dairy products: milk, butter and yogurt. The subjects were followed prospectively until 2002. Causes of death were identified using death certificates. Hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each dairy product were calculated using Cox's proportional hazard models. Among eight common cancers, only deaths from hematopoietic neoplasm (n=14) were significantly associated with consumption of butter (HR=5.11, 95% CI: 1.40-18.62), though they exhibited a nearly-significant association with milk consumption (HR=3.17, 95% CI: 0.99-10.17), independent of age and sex. Consumption of milk and butter was significantly associated with non-lymphoma deaths (n=9) when adjusted for age and sex (HR=9.86, 95% CI: 1.23-79.19 for milk; and HR=10.04, 95% CI: 2.39-42.18 for butter). The frequencies of butter consumption, and probably that of milk, were correlated with death from hematopoietic neoplasm, particularly from non-lymphomas.
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Background: Dietary guidelines recommend minimising consumption of whole-fat dairy products, as they are a source of saturated fats and presumed to adversely affect blood lipids and increase cardiovascular disease and mortality. Evidence for this contention is sparse and few data for the effects of dairy consumption on health are available from low-income and middle-income countries. Therefore, we aimed to assess the associations between total dairy and specific types of dairy products with mortality and major cardiovascular disease. Methods: The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study is a large multinational cohort study of individuals aged 35-70 years enrolled from 21 countries in five continents. Dietary intakes of dairy products for 136 384 individuals were recorded using country-specific validated food frequency questionnaires. Dairy products comprised milk, yoghurt, and cheese. We further grouped these foods into whole-fat and low-fat dairy. The primary outcome was the composite of mortality or major cardiovascular events (defined as death from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure). Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using multivariable Cox frailty models with random intercepts to account for clustering of participants by centre. Findings: Between Jan 1, 2003, and July 14, 2018, we recorded 10 567 composite events (deaths [n=6796] or major cardiovascular events [n=5855]) during the 9·1 years of follow-up. Higher intake of total dairy (>2 servings per day compared with no intake) was associated with a lower risk of the composite outcome (HR 0·84, 95% CI 0·75-0·94; ptrend=0·0004), total mortality (0·83, 0·72-0·96; ptrend=0·0052), non-cardiovascular mortality (0·86, 0·72-1·02; ptrend=0·046), cardiovascular mortality (0·77, 0·58-1·01; ptrend=0·029), major cardiovascular disease (0·78, 0·67-0·90; ptrend=0·0001), and stroke (0·66, 0·53-0·82; ptrend=0·0003). No significant association with myocardial infarction was observed (HR 0·89, 95% CI 0·71-1·11; ptrend=0·163). Higher intake (>1 serving vs no intake) of milk (HR 0·90, 95% CI 0·82-0·99; ptrend=0·0529) and yogurt (0·86, 0·75-0·99; ptrend=0·0051) was associated with lower risk of the composite outcome, whereas cheese intake was not significantly associated with the composite outcome (0·88, 0·76-1·02; ptrend=0·1399). Butter intake was low and was not significantly associated with clinical outcomes (HR 1·09, 95% CI 0·90-1·33; ptrend=0·4113). Interpretation: Dairy consumption was associated with lower risk of mortality and major cardiovascular disease events in a diverse multinational cohort. Funding: Full funding sources are listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments).
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We investigated the association between dairy product consumption and all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality in the Golestan Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study launched in January 2004 in Golestan Province, northeastern Iran. A total of 42,403 men and women participated in the study and completed a diet questionnaire at enrollment. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. We documented 3,291 deaths (1,467 from CVD and 859 from cancer) during 11 years of follow-up (2004-2015). The highest quintile of total dairy product consumption (versus the lowest) was associated with 19% lower all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio (HR)?=?0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.72, 0.91; Ptrend?=?0.006) and 28% lower CVD mortality risk (HR =?0.72, 95% CI: 0.60, 0.86; Ptrend?=?0.005). High consumption of low-fat dairy food was associated with lower risk of all-cause (HR =?0.83, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.94; Ptrend?=?0.002) and CVD (HR =?0.74, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.89; Ptrend?=?0.001) mortality. We noted 11% lower all-cause mortality and 16% lower CVD mortality risk with high yogurt intake. Cheese intake was associated with 16% lower all-cause mortality and 26% lower CVD mortality risk. Higher intake of high-fat dairy food and milk was not associated with all-cause or CVD mortality. Neither intake of individual dairy products nor intake of total dairy products was significantly associated with overall cancer mortality. High consumption of dairy products, especially yogurt and cheese, may reduce the risk of overall and CVD mortality.
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Yogurt is a semisolid fermented milk product that originated centuries ago and is viewed as an essential food and important source of nutrients in the diet of humans. Over the last 30 years, overweight and obesity have become characteristic of Western and developing countries, which has led to deleterious health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic conditions. Recent epidemiological and clinical evidence suggests that yogurt is involved in the control of body weight and energy homeostasis and may play a role in reducing the risk for type 2 diabetes partly via the replacement of less healthy foods in the diet, its food matrix, the effect of specific nutrients such as calcium and protein on appetite control and glycemia, and alteration in gut microbiota. This review will discuss the specific properties that make yogurt a unique food among the dairy products, epidemiological and clinical evidence supporting yogurt's role in body weight, energy balance, and type 2 diabetes, including its potential mechanisms of action and gaps that need to be explored. Key teaching points • • Several epidemiological and clinical studies have suggested a beneficial effect of yogurt consumption in the control of body weight and energy homeostasis, although this remains controversial. • • Yogurt possesses unique properties, including its nutritional composition; lactic acid bacteria, which may affect gut microbiota; and food matrix, which may have a potential role in appetite and glycemic control. • • Potential mechanisms of action of yogurt include an increase in body fat loss, decrease in food intake and increase in satiety, decrease in glycemic and insulin response, altered gut hormone response, replacement of less healthy foods, and altered gut microbiota. • • The relative energy and nutrient content and contribution of a standard portion of yogurt to the overall diet suggest that the percentage daily intake of these nutrients largely contributes to nutrient requirements and provides a strong contribution to the regulation of energy metabolism.
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Background/objectives: Long-term observational cohorts provide the opportunity to investigate the potential impact of dietary patterns on death. We aimed to investigate all-cause death according to the consumption of selected food groups, and then to identify those independently associated with reduced mortality. Subjects/methods: Population survey of middle-aged men randomly selected in the period 1995-1997 from the general population of three French areas and followed over a median of 14.8 years. Dietary data were collected through a 3-day food record. Cox modeling was used to assess the risk of death according to selected foods groups after extensive adjustment for confounders, including a diet quality index. Results: The study population comprised 960 men (mean age 55.5 ±6.2 years). After a median follow-up of 14.8 (interquartile range 14.3-15.2) years, 150 (15.6%) subjects had died. Food groups that remained independently predictive of a lower risk of death after extensive adjustment were an above-median consumption of milk (adjusted relative risk: 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43-0.86, P-value=0.005), fruits and vegetables (0.68, 0.46-0.98, P-value=0.041) and a moderate consumption of yogurts and cottage cheese (0.50, 95% CI: 0.31-0.81, P-value=0.005), other cheeses (0.62, 0.39-0.97, P-value=0.036) and bread (0.57, 0.37-0.89, P-value=0.014). Besides, there was a nonsignificant trend for a higher risk of death associated with highest sodium intakes. Conclusions: Consumption of food groups that largely match recommendations is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause death in men. A diet providing moderate amounts of diverse food groups appears associated with the highest life expectancy.
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This paper presents a command, glst, for trend estimation across different exposure levels for either single or multiple summarized case-control, incidence-rate, and cumulative incidence data. This approach is based on constructing an approximate covariance estimate for the log relative risks and estimating a corrected linear trend using generalized least squares. For trend analysis of multiple studies, glst can estimate fixed- and random-effects metaregression models. Copyright 2006 by StataCorp LP.
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The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between total and subtypes of bacterial fermented food intake (dairy products, cheese, vegetables and meat) and mortality due to all causes, total cancer and CVD. From the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands cohort, 34 409 Dutch men and women, aged 20-70 years who were free from CVD or cancer at baseline, were included. Baseline intakes of total and subtypes of fermented foods were measured with a validated FFQ. Data on the incidence and causes of death were obtained from the national mortality register. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse mortality in relation to the quartiles of fermented food intake. After a mean follow-up of 15 (sd 2·5) years, 2436 deaths occurred (1216 from cancer and 727 from CVD). After adjustment for age, sex, total energy intake, physical activity, education level, hypertension, smoking habit, BMI, and intakes of fruit, vegetables and alcohol, total fermented food intake was not found to be associated with mortality due to all causes (hazard ratio upper v. lowest quartile (HRQ4 v. Q1) 1·00, 95 % CI 0·88, 1·13), cancer (HRQ4 v. Q1 1·02, 95 % CI 0·86, 1·21) or CVD (HRQ4 v. Q1 1·04, 95 % CI 0·83, 1·30). Bacterial fermented foods mainly consisted of fermented dairy foods (78 %) and cheese (16 %). None of the subtypes of fermented foods was consistently related to mortality, except for cheese which was moderately inversely associated with CVD mortality, and particularly stroke mortality (HRQ4 v. Q1 0·59, 95 % CI 0·38, 0·92, P trend= 0·046). In conclusion, the present study provides no strong evidence that intake of fermented foods, particularly fermented dairy foods, is associated with mortality.
Article
The aim of the present work was to assess the genotoxic activity and the potential for toxicity upon repeated dosing of "Vigiis 101" powder, a probiotic consisting of dried bacteria Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101. Results of the Ames test in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA1537, TA98, TA100, TA102, and TA1535 showed that Vigiis 101 (⩽5 mg per plate) was not mutagenic. We used experiments on ICR mice to evaluate the genotoxicity of Vigiis 101. Compared to the control, high-dose Vigiis 101 administration (16.72 g per kg of body weight) did not cause significant changes either in the number of reticulocytes or in the percentage (occurrence) of micronucleated reticulocytes. A mammalian chromosomal aberration test showed that the number of Chinese hamster ovary cells with abnormal chromosomes was <4% after Vigiis 101 treatment (maximal concentration was 5 mg/ml). A 28-day oral toxicity assay in Wistar rats was performed to assess the no-observed-adverse-effect level of Vigiis 101. Compared to the control, high-dose Vigiis 101 administration (5000 mg/kg/day) had no effects on mortality and body weight and did not cause toxicopathological lesions. Taken together, these results show that Vigiis 101 has no significant mutagenic or toxic effects. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Article
Purpose: Recent studies have shown that yogurt consumption was associated with better diet quality and a healthier metabolic profile in adults. However, such associations have not been investigated in children. The present study examined the associations in children using data from a nationally representative survey. Methods: Data from 5,124 children aged 2-18 years, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2003 and 2006 in the USA were analyzed. The frequency of yogurt consumption over 12 months was determined using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality was assessed by the Healthy Eating Index 2005 (HEI-2005) using one 24-HR dietary recall, and metabolic profiles were obtained from the NHANES laboratory data. Results: It was found that only 33.1 % of children consumed yogurt at least once per week (frequent consumers). Adjusting for covariates, frequent consumers had better diet quality than infrequent consumers, as indicated by a higher HEI-2005 total score (P = 0.04). Frequent yogurt consumption was associated with a lower fasting insulin level (P < 0.001), a lower homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (P < 0.001), and a higher quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (P = 0.03). However, yogurt consumption was not associated with body weight, fasting glucose, serum lipid profiles, C-reactive protein, and blood pressures (all P > 0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that frequent yogurt consumption may contribute to improved diet quality and a healthier insulin profile in children. Future longitudinal studies and clinical trials in children are warranted to explore the health benefits of yogurt consumption.
Article
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommend three daily servings of low- or nonfat dairy products, yet two-thirds of individuals in the United States do not meet that goal. Including low- or nonfat yogurt as part of an overall healthful diet can be a positive step toward meeting the DGA recommendations. Yogurt naturally contains calcium and potassium, and some products are fortified with vitamin D. All of these nutrients were identified in the DGA as “nutrients of concern,” because typical intake falls far short of recommended intakes. Yogurt can also be an excellent source of high-quality protein, which promotes satiety, helps in maintaining a healthy body weight, and aids muscle and bone growth. In addition, yogurt is low in sodium and contributes 1.0% or less of added sugars to the diets of most individuals in the United States; however, 90% of children and adults consume less than 8 ounces (1 cup) of yogurt per week. Thus, consuming 1 serving of yogurt per day would help to meet the DGA-recommended dairy servings and would provide nutrients of concern.
Article
We summarized the data related to foods high in saturated fat and risk of mortality. We searched Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ProQuest for studies from January 1952 to May 2012. We identified 26 publications with individual dietary data and all-cause, total cancer, or cardiovascular mortality as endpoints. Pooled relative risk estimates demonstrated that high intakes of milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter were not associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality compared with low intakes. High intakes of meat and processed meat were significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality but were associated with a decreased risk in a subanalysis of Asian studies. The overall quality of studies was variable. Associations varied by food group and population. This may be because of factors outside saturated fat content of individual foods. There is an ongoing need for improvement in assessment tools and methods that investigate food sources of saturated fat and mortality to inform dietary guidelines.
Article
Previous studies have suggested that probiotic fermented milk may possess blood pressure (BP)-lowering properties. In the present study, we aimed to systematically examine the effect of probiotic fermented milk on BP by conducting a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PubMed, Cochrane library and the ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched up to March 2012 to identify eligible studies. The reference lists of the obtained articles were also reviewed. Either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model was used to calculate the combined treatment effect. Meta-analysis of fourteen randomised placebo-controlled trials involving 702 participants showed that probiotic fermented milk, compared with placebo, produced a significant reduction of 3·10 mmHg (95 % CI - 4·64, - 1·56) in systolic BP and 1·09 mmHg (95 % CI - 2·11, - 0·06) in diastolic BP. Subgroup analyses suggested a slightly greater effect on systolic BP in hypertensive participants than in normotensive ones ( - 3·98 v. - 2·09 mmHg). Analysis of trials conducted in Japan showed a greater reduction than those conducted in European countries for both systolic BP ( - 6·12 v. - 2·08 mmHg) and diastolic BP ( - 3·45 v. - 0·52 mmHg). Some evidence of publication bias was present, but sensitivity analysis excluding small trials that reported extreme results only affected the pooled effect size minimally. In summary, the present meta-analysis suggested that probiotic fermented milk has BP-lowering effects in pre-hypertensive and hypertensive subjects.
Article
The evidence-based Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends increasing the intake of fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. However, yogurt, a nutrient-dense milk product, has been understudied. This cross-sectional study examined whether yogurt consumption was associated with better diet quality and metabolic profile among adults (n = 6526) participating in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring (1998-2001) and Third Generation (2002-2005) cohorts. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake, and the Dietary Guidelines Adherence Index (DGAI) was used to measure overall diet quality. Standardized clinical examinations and laboratory tests were conducted. Generalized estimating equations examined the associations of yogurt consumption with diet quality and levels of metabolic factors. Approximately 64% of women (vs 41% of men) were yogurt consumers (ie, consumed >0 servings/week). Yogurt consumers had a higher DGAI score (ie, better diet quality) than nonconsumers. Adjusted for demographic and lifestyle factors and DGAI, yogurt consumers, compared with nonconsumers, had higher potassium intakes (difference, 0.12 g/d) and were 47%, 55%, 48%, 38%, and 34% less likely to have inadequate intakes (based on Dietary Reference Intake) of vitamins B2 and B12, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, respectively (all P ≤ .001). In addition, yogurt consumption was associated with lower levels of circulating triglycerides, glucose, and lower systolic blood pressure and insulin resistance (all P < .05). Yogurt is a good source of several micronutrients and may help to improve diet quality and maintain metabolic well-being as part of a healthy, energy-balanced dietary pattern.
Article
The consumption of dairy products may influence the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, but conflicting findings have been reported. The objective was to examine the associations of milk, total dairy products, and high- and low-fat dairy intakes with the risk of CVD [including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke] and total mortality. PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS were searched for articles published up to February 2010. Of > 5000 titles evaluated, 17 met the inclusion criteria, all of which were original prospective cohort studies. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed with summarized dose-response data. Milk as the main dairy product was pooled in these analyses. In 17 prospective studies, there were 2283 CVD, 4391 CHD, 15,554 stroke, and 23,949 mortality cases. A modest inverse association was found between milk intake and risk of overall CVD [4 studies; relative risk (RR): 0.94 per 200 mL/d; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.99]. Milk intake was not associated with risk of CHD (6 studies; RR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.04), stroke (6 studies; RR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.05), or total mortality (8 studies; RR per 200 mL/d: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.03). Limited studies of the association of total dairy products and of total high-fat and total low-fat dairy products (per 200 g/d) with CHD showed no significant associations. This dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies indicates that milk intake is not associated with total mortality but may be inversely associated with overall CVD risk; however, these findings are based on limited numbers.
Article
Dairy foods contain various nutrients that may affect health. We investigated whether intake of dairy products or related nutrients is associated with mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and all causes. We carried out a 16-year prospective study among a community-based sample of 1529 adult Australians aged 25-78 years at baseline. Habitual intakes of dairy products (total, high/low-fat dairy, milk, yoghurt and full-fat cheese), calcium and vitamin D were estimated as mean reported intake using validated food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) self-administered in 1992, 1994 and 1996. National Death Index data were used to ascertain mortality and cause of death between 1992 and 2007. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox regression analysis. During an average follow-up time of 14.4 years, 177 participants died, including 61 deaths due to CVD and 58 deaths due to cancer. There was no consistent and significant association between total dairy intake and total or cause-specific mortality. However, compared with those with the lowest intake of full-fat dairy, participants with the highest intake (median intake 339 g/day) had reduced death due to CVD (HR: 0.31; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12-0.79; P for trend=0.04) after adjustment for calcium intake and other confounders. Intakes of low-fat dairy, specific dairy foods, calcium and vitamin D showed no consistent associations. Overall intake of dairy products was not associated with mortality. A possible beneficial association between intake of full-fat dairy and cardiovascular mortality needs further assessment and confirmation.
Article
Epidemiologic and experimental studies suggest that higher intake of dairy products could be associated with lower risk of hypertension and obesity. Differences in nutrient composition of distinct dairy products suggest that their effect on these outcomes might be heterogeneous. However, little experimental research has examined the potentially different effects of low- and whole-fat dairy products on blood pressure (BP) and weight change. The present study aimed to assess whether supplementing diets with low- or whole-fat dairy products would differentially affect BP levels and weight. A randomised crossover trial in 45 normotensive volunteers (18-24 years old, 49% female) was conducted. Participants alternatively received 3.5 servings/day of whole-fat or low-fat dairy products (milk and yogurt) in addition to their usual diet during two 8-week periods, with a 4-week washout period between both interventions. Weight and BP were measured at the beginning and end of each intervention. Whole-fat dairy supplementation significantly increased systolic BP [2.1 mmHg, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.1-4.0, P = 0.04] and weight (1.0 kg, 95% CI = 0.5-1.5, P = 0.0002), but not diastolic BP (P = 0.34). Weight and BP did not change significantly after the low-fat dairy intervention (P > 0.10). There were no significant differences in the effect of low-fat or whole-fat dairy products on BP (P > 0.60), but whole-fat dairy increased weight significantly compared to low-fat dairy (1.2 kg, 95% CI = 0.5-1.8, P = 0.0007). In a young nonhypertensive population, dietary supplementation with whole-fat dairy products, compared to low-fat dairy, was associated with weight gain. No differential effects were observed for levels of BP.
Article
Milk contains components that provide critical nutritive elements, immunological protection, and biologically active substances to both neonates and adults. Milk proteins are currently the main source of a range of biologically active peptides. Concentrates of these peptides are potential health-enhancing nutraceuticals for food and pharmaceutical applications. Several bioactive peptides may be used as nutraceuticals, for example, in the treatment of diarrhea, hypertension, thrombosis, dental diseases, as well as mineral malabsorption, and immunodeficiency. Minor whey proteins, such as lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, and immunoglobulins, are considered antimicrobial proteins. Milk also contains some natural bioactive substances. These include oligosaccharides, fucosylated oligosaccharides, hormones, growth factors, mucin, gangliosides, and endogenous peptides, which are present in milk at secretion. Most of the claimed physiological properties of milk bioactive components have been carried out in vitro or in animal model systems, and these hypothesized properties remain to be proven in humans. Whether these milk bioactive components will replace drugs entirely in the immediate future is still unclear, but the increasing appreciation of "drug foods" or nutraceuticals plays a complementary rather than a substitutional role to the synthetic pharmacological drugs.
Milk and dairy consumption and incidence of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies
  • S S Soedamah-Muthu
  • E L Ding
  • W K Al-Delaimy
  • F B Hu
  • M F Engberink
  • W C Willett
  • SS Soedamah-Muthu