Key TakeawaysHaving high cholesterol can lead to chronic health problems, but your diet and lifestyle choices can help lower your levels.A new study has provided more evidence that milk is not linked to high cholesterol.Milk’s unique nutritional components can make it part of a heart-healthy diet.Having elevated cholesterol levels can increase your risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions, but there are some lifestyle changes that you can make to help keep your levels under control.Thinking aboutwhat you eat and drinkis one place to start if you’re looking to lower your cholesterol. According to a new study that included close to two million people,regular consumption of milkis not associated with an increase in cholesterol.Researchers have looked at whether certain types of milk affect cardiovascular health before, but studies investigating general milk consumption’s role on blood cholesterol levels have been limited.How Much Cholesterol Does Milk Have?To find answers to that question, the researchers behind the latest study evaluated data from large meta-analyses that included health outcomes.Genetics Determine How Your Body Reacts to MilkElina Hyppönen, a professor in Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiologyat the University of South Australia and an investigator on the study, tells Verywell that the study’s findings “suggest that milk can be a part of a balanced heart-healthy diet.”Dairy milk is a complex food, and its role in heart health depends on several variables. For the new study, the researchers used genetic factors to determine whether there could be a potential link between a person’s milk intake and theircholesterol levels.Some people have a hard time digesting lactose, the sugar naturally found in milk. The body relies on anenzymecalled lactase to break the sugar down. Certain genetic factors can affect how well the body digests milk.People who are lactose intolerant may have digestive symptoms when they consume dairy products, which may lead them to drink less milk. By looking at specific genetic factors like this one, the researchers were able to figure out whether people were more or less likely to drink milk.ResultsThe study’s findings, which were published in theInternational Journal of Obesity,show that people with the genetic factors needed to break downlactasehad lower levels of bothHDL (“good”)andLDL (“bad”) cholesterolcompared to people who did not have milk-digesting genes.The researchers proposed that people who are able to digest milk well are more likely to drink milk than people who do not digest it as well. In fact, the odds of consuming milk were higher among people who had the gene for breaking down lactose than people who did not have the gene.What Is Lactose Intolerance?Researchers then made a connection between milk intake and cholesterol levels: The people with the gene for digesting lactose drank more milk and had lowercholesterol levelsthan people who did not have the gene and, presumably, drank less milk.Other Key FindingsThere were several other key findings from the study:People who had the lactose-digesting gene also had a slightly higherbody mass index (BMI)than people who did not have the gene.People who drank more milk had a 14% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) than people who drank less milk.No direct link between milk intake and type 2 diabetes was found.LimitationsAlthough the study was large, it was not an intervention trial. Therefore, a definitive causal relationship between milk intake andcholesterol levelscannot be assumed.More research is needed, but if you’re looking to make evidence-backed changes to your diet, past studies have also highlighted milk’s heart-health benefits. A study published in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutritionindicated that certain dairy fats, including whole milk, might be protective against stroke and heart disease.Lainey Younkin, MS, RD, LDN, a Boston-based registered dietitian atLainey Younkin Nutrition, tells Verywell that milk can be a healthful addition to your diet because it “contains essential nutrients like vitamin D, vitamin A, protein, calcium, B vitamins, including vitamin B12, and minerals like magnesium and selenium.“Younkin adds that drinking milk can fill key nutrient gaps—especiallymagnesiumand calcium, which may play a role in heart health.Including Milk in a Heart-Healthy DietMilk has unique nutritional components that no other food can match. The researchers think that some of these factors might be why milk can haveheart-health benefits.Thecalciumand lactose found in milk may enhance calcium absorption—a factor that has been shown to lower cholesterol levels.Milk drinkers may consume less fat overall compared to people who cannot break down the lactose sugar. Higher fat dairy products like butter and cheese typically contain less lactose; therefore, people who cannot break down the sugar may consume more of these higher-calorie foods.The sugars found in milk can be fermented in the gut, which can lower cholesterol formation rates.What This Means For YouIf you tolerate dairy products, adding milk to your diet may supporthealthy cholesterol levels.
Key TakeawaysHaving high cholesterol can lead to chronic health problems, but your diet and lifestyle choices can help lower your levels.A new study has provided more evidence that milk is not linked to high cholesterol.Milk’s unique nutritional components can make it part of a heart-healthy diet.
Key Takeaways
Having high cholesterol can lead to chronic health problems, but your diet and lifestyle choices can help lower your levels.A new study has provided more evidence that milk is not linked to high cholesterol.Milk’s unique nutritional components can make it part of a heart-healthy diet.
Having elevated cholesterol levels can increase your risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions, but there are some lifestyle changes that you can make to help keep your levels under control.
Thinking aboutwhat you eat and drinkis one place to start if you’re looking to lower your cholesterol. According to a new study that included close to two million people,regular consumption of milkis not associated with an increase in cholesterol.
Researchers have looked at whether certain types of milk affect cardiovascular health before, but studies investigating general milk consumption’s role on blood cholesterol levels have been limited.
How Much Cholesterol Does Milk Have?
To find answers to that question, the researchers behind the latest study evaluated data from large meta-analyses that included health outcomes.
Genetics Determine How Your Body Reacts to Milk
Elina Hyppönen, a professor in Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiologyat the University of South Australia and an investigator on the study, tells Verywell that the study’s findings “suggest that milk can be a part of a balanced heart-healthy diet.”
Dairy milk is a complex food, and its role in heart health depends on several variables. For the new study, the researchers used genetic factors to determine whether there could be a potential link between a person’s milk intake and theircholesterol levels.
Some people have a hard time digesting lactose, the sugar naturally found in milk. The body relies on anenzymecalled lactase to break the sugar down. Certain genetic factors can affect how well the body digests milk.
People who are lactose intolerant may have digestive symptoms when they consume dairy products, which may lead them to drink less milk. By looking at specific genetic factors like this one, the researchers were able to figure out whether people were more or less likely to drink milk.
Results
The study’s findings, which were published in theInternational Journal of Obesity,show that people with the genetic factors needed to break downlactasehad lower levels of bothHDL (“good”)andLDL (“bad”) cholesterolcompared to people who did not have milk-digesting genes.
The researchers proposed that people who are able to digest milk well are more likely to drink milk than people who do not digest it as well. In fact, the odds of consuming milk were higher among people who had the gene for breaking down lactose than people who did not have the gene.
What Is Lactose Intolerance?
Researchers then made a connection between milk intake and cholesterol levels: The people with the gene for digesting lactose drank more milk and had lowercholesterol levelsthan people who did not have the gene and, presumably, drank less milk.
Other Key FindingsThere were several other key findings from the study:People who had the lactose-digesting gene also had a slightly higherbody mass index (BMI)than people who did not have the gene.People who drank more milk had a 14% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) than people who drank less milk.No direct link between milk intake and type 2 diabetes was found.
Other Key Findings
There were several other key findings from the study:People who had the lactose-digesting gene also had a slightly higherbody mass index (BMI)than people who did not have the gene.People who drank more milk had a 14% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) than people who drank less milk.No direct link between milk intake and type 2 diabetes was found.
There were several other key findings from the study:
Limitations
Although the study was large, it was not an intervention trial. Therefore, a definitive causal relationship between milk intake andcholesterol levelscannot be assumed.
More research is needed, but if you’re looking to make evidence-backed changes to your diet, past studies have also highlighted milk’s heart-health benefits. A study published in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutritionindicated that certain dairy fats, including whole milk, might be protective against stroke and heart disease.
Lainey Younkin, MS, RD, LDN, a Boston-based registered dietitian atLainey Younkin Nutrition, tells Verywell that milk can be a healthful addition to your diet because it “contains essential nutrients like vitamin D, vitamin A, protein, calcium, B vitamins, including vitamin B12, and minerals like magnesium and selenium.”
Younkin adds that drinking milk can fill key nutrient gaps—especiallymagnesiumand calcium, which may play a role in heart health.
Including Milk in a Heart-Healthy Diet
Milk has unique nutritional components that no other food can match. The researchers think that some of these factors might be why milk can haveheart-health benefits.
What This Means For YouIf you tolerate dairy products, adding milk to your diet may supporthealthy cholesterol levels.
What This Means For You
If you tolerate dairy products, adding milk to your diet may supporthealthy cholesterol levels.
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Heart Association (AHA).Prevention and treatment of high cholesterol.
Vimaleswaran KS, Zhou A, Cavadino A, Hyppönen E.Evidence for a causal association between milk intake and cardiometabolic disease outcomes using a two-sample Mendelian Randomization analysis in up to 1,904,220 individuals.Int J Obes (Lond). doi:10.1038/s41366-021-00841-2
de Oliveira Otto MC, Lemaitre RN, Song X, King IB, Siscovick DS, Mozaffarian D.Serial measures of circulating biomarkers of dairy fat and total and cause-specific mortality in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Sep 1;108(3):476-484. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqy117
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