The Impact of Dairy Products in the Development of Type 2 Diabetes: Where Does the Evidence Stand in 2019?

Jing Guo*, D. Ian Givens, Arne Astrup, Stephan J. L. Bakker, Gijs H. Goossens, Mario Kratz, Andre Marette, Hanno Pijl, Sabita S. Soedamah-Muthu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

Abstract

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased rapidly. Adopting a heathy diet is suggested as one of the effective behaviors to prevent or delay onset of T2D. Dairy consumption has been recommended as part of a healthy diet, but there remains uncertainty in both the scientific community and the public about the effect of different dairy products on T2D risk. In a recent workshop, the evidence on dairy products and T2D risk was presented and discussed by a group of experts. The main conclusions from the workshop are presented in this position paper and are as follows. 1) Available evidence from large prospective cohort studies and limited randomized controlled trials (RCTs) suggests that total dairy consumption has a neutral or moderately beneficial effect on T2D risk. 2) Increasing evidence from prospective cohort studies indicates that yogurt is most strongly associated with a lower T2D risk, but evidence from RCTs is scarce. 3) Fatty acids from dairy (medium-chain, odd, and very long-chain SFAs as well as trans-palmitoleic acid) are associated with lower T2D risk and improved metabolic health, but more research is needed on studies that explore cause and effect relations to exclude the possibility that the dairy fatty acids simply serve as markers of overall dairy consumption. 4) The food matrix can be a stronger determinant of health effects than SFA content. This review further identifies research gaps in the existing knowledge and highlights key research questions that need to be addressed to better understand the impact of dairy consumption on future T2D risk.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1066-1075
Number of pages10
JournalAdvances in Nutrition
Volume10
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2019

Keywords

  • ADIPOSE-TISSUE
  • DIETARY-FAT INTAKE
  • DOSE-RESPONSE METAANALYSIS
  • IMPAIRED GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE
  • INSULIN SENSITIVITY
  • LIFE-STYLE INTERVENTION
  • METABOLIC SYNDROME
  • RISK-FACTORS
  • TRANS-PALMITOLEIC ACID
  • WEIGHT-LOSS
  • cheese
  • dairy
  • milk
  • type 2 diabetes
  • yogurt
  • SATURATED FATTY-ACIDS

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