Yoghurt for your heart
AHIGHER intake of yoghurt may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease among hypertensive men and women, a new study suggests.
According to the researchers, clinical trials have previously demonstrated the beneficial effects of dairy consumption on cardiovascular health.
“Our results provide important new evidence that yoghurt may benefit heart health alone or as a consistent part of a diet rich in fibre, fruits, vegetables and whole grains,” said co-author of the study Justin R Buendia from the Boston University School of Medicine in the US.
For the study, published in the American Journal of Hypertension, researchers included over 55 000 women aged between 30 and 55 with high blood pressure from the Nurses’ Health Study and 18 000 men, aged between 40 and 75, who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.
In the Nurses’ Health Study, participants were asked to complete a mailed 61-item questionnaire in 1980 to report usual dietary intake in the preceding year.
Participants subsequently reported any interim physician-diagnosed events, including myocardial infarction, stroke and revascularisation.
The researchers found that higher intakes of yoghurt were associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction among the Nurses’ Health Study women and a 19% reduction in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study men. There were 3 300 and 2 148 total cardiovascular disease cases (myocardial infarction, stroke and revascularisation) in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, respectively, the researchers said.
A higher yoghurt intake in women was associated with a 16% lower risk of undergoing revascularisation.
In both groups, participants consuming more than two servings a week of yoghurt had an about 20% lower risks of major coronary heart disease or stroke during the follow-up period.
When revascularisation was added to the total cardiovascular disease outcome variable, the risk estimates were reduced for both men and women but remained significant.
Higher yoghurt intake in combination with an overall heart-healthy diet was associated with greater reductions in cardiovascular disease risk among hypertensive men and women, the researchers noted. –