Add yoghurt to reduce heart disease risk

High blood pressure is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor that affects about one billion people worldwide but may also be a major cause of cardiovascular health problems. Higher dairy consumption has been associated with beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease-related illnesses such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance.

The current analyses, in the American Journal of Hypertension, participants included over 55,000 women (ages 30-55) with high blood pressure from the Nurses’ Health Study and 18,000 men (ages 40-75) who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

30 years of data

Participants’ diets were assessed with questionnaires and followed for around 30 years to see who experienced heart attack, stroke, and revascularization.

Higher intakes of yogurt were associated with a 30% reduction in risk of myocardial infarction among the Nurses’ Health Study women and a 19% reduction in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study men.

In women, it was also associated with a 16% lower risk of undergoing revascularization.

In both groups, participants consuming more than two servings a week of yogurt had an approximately 20% lower risks of major coronary heart disease or stroke during the follow-up period. When revascularization was added to the total cardiovascular disease outcome variable, the risk estimates were reduced for both men and women, but remained significant.

Higher yogurt intake in combination with an overall heart-healthy diet was associated with greater reductions in cardiovascular disease risk among hypertensive men and women.

According to one of the paper’s authors, Justin Buendia. “Our results provide important new evidence that yogurt may benefit heart health alone or as a consistent part of a diet rich in fibre-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.”