Posted on 05/23/2005 6:08:11 PM PDT by blam
Milk 'can combat heart disease'
By Nic Fleming, Health Correspondent
(Filed: 24/05/2005)
A diet rich in milk may protect people from heart disease and strokes, says a study published today.
Researchers who studied the diets and health of men over a 20-year period found that those who drank a lot of milk were 12 per cent less likely to have a heart attack and almost half as likely to suffer a stroke.
The authors of the study - published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health - suggest that the widespread perception that milk increases the risk of heart disease is inaccurate.
Prof Peter Elwood, from the University of Wales, says: "Many cross-sectional studies have shown that milk intake is positively related to blood cholesterol levels and an increase in milk consumption is followed by an increase in cholesterol level.
"This paper challenges the belief that because milk drinking raises blood cholesterol level it increases the risk of vascular disease."
"The present perception of milk as harmful, in increasing cardiovascular risk, should be challenged, and every effort should be made to restore it to its rightful place in a healthy diet."
In the group of 665 men aged between 45 and 59 cholesterol levels and blood pressure readings were similar in those who consumed a pint or more of milk a day and those who had less than half a pint.
The risk of a stroke among those in the high milk intake group was 88 per cent of that of the whole group.
Publix's Black Jack Cherry is just as good & costs a lot less.
It didn't say that. The article said the vitamin D from sunlight helped prevent fatal cancers. Skin cancer is normally not fatal. They weighed getting skin cancer versus preventing fatal cancers.
Try Horizon organic milk, I drink it by the gallons.
It might interest you to know that the article the source is referencing is actually an overview of research and not the study itself - it just tangentially mentions it.
(They also do explicitly mention that the study indicated didn't control for any other factors.)
Also interesting to note that the source journal article for this 'new news' is from 2001. Unless, that is, Dr. Elwood published basically the same paper in the same journal a couple of years apart.
Despite it's questionable origins, I gotta go with the Ben and Jerry's. Cherries Garcia is the BEST! Of course, at 2 pints a day, I'd look like the Goodyear blimp in a month's time.
I'm no expert but I think vitamin-C or some other component of orange juice also facilitates calcium absorption which is why some brands of orange juice are fortified with calcium.
Ben and Jerry's? No way. I'd rather send my money direct to some pinko twit than to support--even retrospectively--the B&J clique. Blue Bell is an all-American ice cream.
7. Elwood, P.C., Pickering, J.E., Fehily, A.M., Hughes, J. & Ness, A. Milk drinking, ischaemic heart disease & ischaemic stroke. I. Evidence from the Caerphilly Cohort. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 58: 711-717 (2004).
I don't have access to the journal, and it's not the article referenced in the Telegraph (apparently). Why would they cite a review rather than the original research?
Milk is good for you today. All dairy products are bad. We must all drink soy milk tomorrow. I am getting so confused on what to eat!!!
Seriously, is it possible to get good milk for a reaonable price? The only good milk I can find at the local Sprouts store is $3.50 a half gallon or more. With seven people in the house I keep talling my hubby we can only afford to eat better after the kids move out.
I know about the sun and skin cancer thing. Heard of a lecture on it (don't remember where) a doctor was stating that the best thing everyone can have is one hour of natural sunlight per day.
"If 1% is good for you, think how much better "whole" milk must be."
I've never had my blood checked but I drink an average of 4 gallons of whole milk a week and am going strong at 67.
I saw that too, but it's the wrong journal - the one they (supposedly) reference is from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (which is the 2001 paper), not the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
On second glance, it does look like the 2004 one is the actual study they're talking about in this article, but without comparing the raw numbers (which I'm too lazy to do), it's too difficult to tell which one they're using - the studies say basically the same thing.
So I bet you're right and that's the one, in which case, WAY TO MESS UP THE REFERENCE, MISTER "HEALTH" AUTHOR.
Also... just glancing over the 2004 study, it does seem to have controlled for all the right things (lifestyle, caloric intake, additional risk factors, etc). The only thing it didn't do is control for fat/non-fat milk drinkers, but they wave some numbers around and claim it doesn't really matter.
Not to scare you or anything, but a great deal of heart diseases have absolutely no symptoms prior to the first heart attack or stroke. Lesions can develop in the arteries with you feeling absolutely fine and seeming to be in great health. (Though of course, if you exercise regularly, that's a fantastic way of decreasing your overall risk, but genetics, diet, etc. all play a role and it's impossible to tell which has the most effect.)
It's never a bad idea to get your blood checked, because the levels of cholesterol, CRP, and other things in your blood will tell you definitively what your current risk of cardiovascular disease is, and the best part is that you can usually dramatically alter these levels and your subsequent risk just through simple lifestyle changes (i.e. no drugs).
Regards!
At 67 im not going to concern myself with it.
The last time I was sick was 59 years ago and except for bi-annual flight exams the only reason i've had to see a doctor since then has been for accidental damage repair a few times.
At 67 im not going to concern myself with it.
The last time I was sick was 59 years ago and except for bi-annual flight exams the only reason i've had to see a doctor since then has been for accidental damage repair a few times.
As far as excercise, i've never and will never excercise intentionally although I do construction work daily so that probably makes up for it.
Exactly---LOL :-)
it does seem to have controlled for all the right things (lifestyle, caloric intake, additional risk factors, etc
(I wish I could view articles that quickly! Is this reprinted on the internet somewhere or actually available online from the publisher? Most of them are so bloody expensive...and I have to rely on glacial interlibrary loan.)
I wonder if the lifestyle factors included a global assessment of the diet---I mean, not just caloric intake but quantities of fruits and vegetables. Extra calcium, magnesium, potassium from fruits and veggies could certainly make a difference.
Yeah, it generally would. The key is aerobic exercise, and the amount of walking, lifting, etc. in construction definitely qualifies. In fact, if you have a physically demanding job (and at 67 - good for you!), additional exercise really becomes less of a good idea because you're stressing your immune and antioxidant systems.
The last time I was sick was 59 years ago
It's totally up to you, so I'll just point out for the benefit of the lurkers that a strong immune system (i.e. rarely become symptomatic for colds, flus) will in no way protect you against heart disease.
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