News Published on 3 Jun, 2009
Study says skimmed milk can reduce blood pressure
Filed by Bill Bruce
A study carried out in the Netherlands has found middle-aged men and women who consume lots of healthy dairy products, such as skimmed milk and low-fat yogurts, are much less likely to have high blood pressure later in life.
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The research isn’t the first to link dairy goods with a healthy heart. Experts now think minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium – all found in milk – could play a vital role in protecting against high blood pressure, or hypertension.
About 270,000 people a year in the UK suffer a heart attack, and high blood pressure – which affects one in five people – is a major risk factor.
Clinical guidelines state a healthy reading (measured in millimeters of mercury, comparing when the heart beats to when it’s at rest) is 120mmHg/80mmHg or below. Regular exercise and reduced salt intake can help to lower it, but patients who have readings consistently above 140mmHg/90mmHg usually need drugs to control it.
The latest study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests increased consumption of low-fat milk could help.
Researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands monitored 2,245 men and women aged 55 or over who didn’t have high blood pressure at the start of the trial, for 10 years.
The results showed that in the first two years of the study, the risk of developing high blood pressure was reduced almost 30% in those consuming the most low-fat dairy goods. High-fat products, such as butter or cheese, didn’t have a protective effect, though they didn’t increase the risks either.
High blood pressure tends to affect the body as it ages, and researchers think although skimmed milk may help delay its onset, it cannot prevent it completely. The research paper said: “Trials show a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products can substantially reduce blood pressure. Although the underlying mechanism remains to be established, it has been linked to proteins, bioactive peptides and minerals such as calcium, potassium or magnesium.”
Source: The Telegraph