Are Milk and Weight Loss Linked?
Is there a link between drinking milk and weight loss? Researchers seem to have unveiled information that points in that direction, although results that have been published elsewhere may not be as conclusive as they would wish.
While we're all looking for healthier ways to stay in shape, there will sometimes come along a study that give some hope to the many overweight people in our population.
Drinking Milk
In a study that examined over 300 men and women who fell into the age bracket of 40-65 and were at risk of becoming or already were overweight, researchers noticed a link between drinking more milk and the apparent reduction in weight gain.
They found that for those already on a diet, the higher levels of dairy calcium as well as serum vitamin D contained in milk seems to lead to a greater chance of losing weight.
The researchers followed the progress of the people over a period of two years. They noticed that even allowing for variables such as age or gender, along with baseline BMI (Body Mass Index) coupled with their total fat intake, increased consumption of milk appeared to lead to greater weight loss.
There is more good news on this front, as milk is not only a benefit for anyone wishing to lose weight. For many years, experts in dental health have emphasized for a number of years that when it comes to good oral health the only truly safe drinks are milk and water. Dr Nigel Carter, who is the Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said:
"If this news encourages more adults to swap fizzy drinks and fruit juices for milk, then in terms of oral health it is definitely a good thing. It is not clear if a greater intake of milk and calcium itself helped to increase weight loss, or if it could be down to a reduced calorie intake caused by replacing sugar containing fizzy drinks with milk.
People often do not realize that it is how often sugar occurs in a diet, rather than how much sugar, that makes the difference to the condition of the teeth. Each time someone eats or drinks something containing sugar, their teeth are under attack for an hour, before the balance in the mouth is corrected. Minimizing how often these attacks occur is a vital part of maintaining healthy teeth and gums."
Milk Consumption in Adults
To obtain the most effective results, it is recommended to drink skimmed milk in preference to other forms which contain higher levels of the unhealthy fats that are associated with high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Drinking skimmed milk also appears to force the body to burn more of its store of fats where higher fat milks do not.
Note: However, despite this apparently upbeat news for people looking to lose some weight, I should point out that there are a number of studies that indicate that a large number of adults simply cannot digest milk properly to extract its nutrients, pointing out the prevalence of lactose intolerance.
My personal view is that considering the levels of hormones and antibiotics present in dairy combined with the problems of lactose intolerance, milk is a product that I personally no longer include in my diet.
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Posted on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 in News | 0 Comments