Dairy intake as a potential method for combating weight issues and type 2 diabetes

Strategies abound when it comes to dealing with and preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes. One method that has been picking up some steam and gaining recognition is a diet based on the addition of more dairy products. The belief behind the concept lies in the anti-obesity effect of dietary calcium, which is known to burn fat rather than store it.

A clinical trial was performed to determine the anti-hypertensive effects of dairy products in African-Americans. Participants of the study increased their dietary calcium intake from 400 to 1000 mg/day with two cups of yogurt for a year. This proportionate increase in dairy intake led to a significant reduction in body fat. Another study tested the effectiveness of a variety of milk proteins (whey, casein and complete milk in the form of skim milk powder) in preventing weight gain in lab rats that had purposely become obese. The skim milk powder proved to be effective in preventing weight gain from a high fat diet. When combined with calcium, it also improved blood glucose response, suggesting that additional bioactive ingredients in milk aside from calcium are responsible for the effect of milk products.

Due to the fact that milk is a rich source of bioactive peptides, it provides greater weight loss capabilities than a sole calcium supplementation. The bioactive peptides present in milk provide a number of benefits, including a reduction in blood pressure related to its ACE-inhibitor activities, a reduction in inflammatory cytokines and food intake regulation, all of which contribute to weight loss. More studies are currently underway that are further investigating the effects of a diet with high dairy intake (3-4 servings per day) compared to one with a low dairy intake (less than one serving per day.) The major markers for these studies are weight loss control, glycemic and insulinemic response to a test meal, and markers of inflammation. Though additional research is required to confirm the precise advantages of a diet high in dairy, their health benefits are clearly evident.

As reported in the summer '08 edition of the Canadian Journal of Dietary Practice and Research