<div id="hn-headline">Calcium-rich dairy may prolong life: study</div>
<p class="hn-byline">
(AFP)
–
<span class="hn-date">3 hours ago</span></p>
<p>PARIS — Shunned by many as a source of artery-clogging cholesterol, calcium-rich dairy products consumed in childhood may in some cases add years to one's life, reported a study released Tuesday.</p><p>A 65-year follow-up to a 1930's survey of more than 1,300 families in England and Scotland showed that a diet high in milk, cheese and butter did not lead to higher rates of cardiovascular disease.</p><p>Moreover, children with the largest intake of calcium from dairy enjoyed a lower death rate from strokes, according to the study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).</p><p>Heart disease risk factors begin in childhood, but evidence to date has been inconclusive as to whether dairy consumption at an early age helps or hurts.</p><p>Some experts have argued that the high fat content in full-butter dairy products contributes to heart problems later in life.</p><p>A team of researchers led by Jolieke van der Pols, a scientist at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, followed up with 4,374 people who took part as children in the late 1930s in a study of food consumption.</p><p>By 2005, 34 percent of them -- 1,468 individuals -- had died, 378 from coronary heart disease and 121 from strokes.</p><p>No evidence was found of a link between intake of dairy products and either of these causes of mortality.</p><p>Surprising, however, childhood intake of calcium -- mainly from milk and milk-derived comestibles -- corresponded to a lower rate of death by stroke.</p><p>"Furthermore, childhood diets rich in dairy or calcium were associated with lower all-cause mortality in adulthood," the study concluded.</p><p>The authors cautioned that further studies were needed to confirm the findings, which may result in part from other factors such as income levels and occupation.</p>
<!-- google_ad_section_end(name=article) -->
<p id="hn-distributor-copyright"><span>Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.</span></p>
<p class="hn-byline">
(AFP)
–
<span class="hn-date">3 hours ago</span></p>
<p>PARIS — Shunned by many as a source of artery-clogging cholesterol, calcium-rich dairy products consumed in childhood may in some cases add years to one's life, reported a study released Tuesday.</p><p>A 65-year follow-up to a 1930's survey of more than 1,300 families in England and Scotland showed that a diet high in milk, cheese and butter did not lead to higher rates of cardiovascular disease.</p><p>Moreover, children with the largest intake of calcium from dairy enjoyed a lower death rate from strokes, according to the study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).</p><p>Heart disease risk factors begin in childhood, but evidence to date has been inconclusive as to whether dairy consumption at an early age helps or hurts.</p><p>Some experts have argued that the high fat content in full-butter dairy products contributes to heart problems later in life.</p><p>A team of researchers led by Jolieke van der Pols, a scientist at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, followed up with 4,374 people who took part as children in the late 1930s in a study of food consumption.</p><p>By 2005, 34 percent of them -- 1,468 individuals -- had died, 378 from coronary heart disease and 121 from strokes.</p><p>No evidence was found of a link between intake of dairy products and either of these causes of mortality.</p><p>Surprising, however, childhood intake of calcium -- mainly from milk and milk-derived comestibles -- corresponded to a lower rate of death by stroke.</p><p>"Furthermore, childhood diets rich in dairy or calcium were associated with lower all-cause mortality in adulthood," the study concluded.</p><p>The authors cautioned that further studies were needed to confirm the findings, which may result in part from other factors such as income levels and occupation.</p>
<!-- google_ad_section_end(name=article) -->
<p id="hn-distributor-copyright"><span>Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.</span></p>
