Volume 12, Number 4, July-August 2005

Milk, heart disease and obesity: an examination of the evidence
Peter Elwood, Janie Hughes, Ann Fehily

Milk drinking causes a rise in serum cholesterol level and it is therefore assumed that this will increase vascular disease risk. At the same time, a reduction in blood pressure by milk is largely ignored. An overview of large, long-term cohort studies gives no evidence of an increase, but rather, a significant reduction in vascular disease risk in subjects with a high milk intake relative to those who report drinking little or no milk.
Overweight is a positive factor in vascular disease and a common perception of milk is that it causes an increase in body weight. However, many observational studies show a negative association and while there have been only a few randomised trials, overall these support a beneficial effect of milk on weight, on body fat, and upon weight loss achieved by a calorie reduced diet. The mechanisms involved in these relationships are inadequately understood, but calcium is likely to be involved. Milk is the major source of calcium and yet milk intakes in the UK and in many other countries have been falling for many years.
In view of the evidence of benefit in vascular disease and on body weight, it is argued that every effort should be made to reverse the present decline in milk consumption.

Br J Cardiol 2005;12:283-290.

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