Researchers in Valencia participated in an international study that has debunked the association between milk and dairy products and increased cardiovascular risk. Lecturer Óscar Coltell of the Universitat Jaume I de Castellón led the computational analysis of the masses of data obtained in relation to an innovative new biomarker.
The study, led by Dr. Dolores Corella at the Spanish Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn), has identified a means of measuring patient intake of milk and dairy products that by-passes traditional reliance on questionnaire- and interview-based estimations. Specifically, the team has identified a new biomarker that can reliably indicate consumption in both Mediterreanean and American populations.
Besides the contribution of a reliable genetic marker for the intake of dairy products, the study reports no significant association between a greater dairy intake and increased values for cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, where previous studies have typically given contradictory results.