Non-fat milk products can reduce the risk of hypertension by 50%

Nov 30 2005

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is the peer-reviewed journal of international reference in the field of nutrition.

In its latest issue, of November, it published an article which demonstrated that non-fat milk products can reduce the risk of hypertension by 50%, while nevertheless there is no appreciable connection between that disease and the consumption of whole milk.

The research was carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Navarra and Alvaro Alonso, currently a researcher in the School of Public Health at Harvard University who is the lead author of the article.

Research population of 6,000 persons

This was a study which evaluated the relationship between the consumption of milk products and the risk of developing arterial hypertension.

They performed a research project that followed 6,000 people over the course of two years.

Those persons with an elevated consumption of skimmed milk and milk products showed a reduction of 50% in their risk of developing hypertension, compared with those with a low consumption or who did not consume these products. Nevertheless, no relationship was encountered between the consumption of whole milk products and the risk of hypertension.

These results can contribute to a clearer definition of dietary guidelines for the prevention of arterial hypertension. In particular, although data from prior studies indicated a possible preventative role of lactose products in the development of arterial hypertension, these results have been the first to demonstrate that this association exists in adults.