Increasing your dairy consumption could be one way to help manage blood pressure, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed data from over 2,800 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 80 and found that participants who reported consuming milk products often had reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure as compared to those who rarely consumed milk products.
The research was presented at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in October.
High blood pressure is a common condition—nearly 120 million Americans have been diagnosed. And hypertension “has been shown time and time again to be associated with adverse health outcomes, including coronary artery disease causing heart attack or angina, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, aortic aneurysm, stroke, and a variety of other concerns,” Brian Downey, MD, director of general cardiology services at Tufts Medical Center, told Health.
In light of this, researchers wanted to investigate how common foods like dairy might be related to the development of high blood pressure and other conditions, explained study author Saiful Singar, a doctoral candidate in nutrition science at Florida State University.
“Our lab was interested in researching the effects of functional foods and bioactive compounds in preventing, managing, and slowing down the progression of chronic diseases in older adults,” he told Health.
But even though milk product consumption was linked to positive blood pressure results, that wasn’t necessarily true across the board.
Singar and his colleagues also found that people who frequently consumed dairy had increased blood triglyceride (fat) levels, as well as decreased HDL, or “good,” cholesterol levels, compared to people who rarely had milk products. Plus, dairy consumption had no effect on participants’ inflammation or blood sugar control markers.
Having unhealthy levels of fat in the blood can, like high blood pressure, contribute to many cardiovascular-related conditions, explained Downey. It can also cause atherosclerosis, or the build-up of plaque in the arteries, he said.
So, with these contradictory findings, should you incorporate milk products into your daily diet? Here’s what experts had to say, plus what you need to know about the connection between dairy and heart health.
Dairy’s effect on the body—particularly when it comes to metabolic or cardiovascular health—is something researchers are still trying to understand.
According to one review, “increased dairy intake has been associated with modest weight gain,” Singar explained, but it doesn’t seem to have any significant effect on other health factors such as waist circumference, insulin resistance, cholesterol, or triglycerides.
“However, some studies suggest that dairy products—particularly yogurt—can improve waist circumference, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol,” he added.
The contradictory findings could be explained by how data is typically collected in these studies, explained Downey.
“Food studies are notoriously challenging, as they often rely on a patient’s self-reporting of food consumption, rather than distribution of a set of foods with specifically known nutritional content,” he said.
This is especially true for observational studies such as the one conducted by Singar and his team. “These types of observational studies provide us with useful information, but rarely are able to prove causation of the outcome,” Downey explained.
This means that participants’ differences in blood pressure or cholesterol levels could be explained by their dairy consumption, or it could be caused by some other factor.
Despite this, experts say there are a few potential mechanisms that could explain how dairy consumption may be impacting heart health.
For blood pressure specifically, certain bioactive peptides in dairy have been shown to inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), which helps lower blood pressure, said Singar. Additionally, dairy’s mineral content—including calcium, potassium, and magnesium—could also be involved in blood pressure regulation, he explained.
There are more questions about dairy’s effect on cholesterol levels. Full-fat milk products do contain saturated fats, which have long been associated with unhealthy cholesterol levels. However, research suggests eating full-fat dairy may not actually cause issues with lipid levels.
Instead, it could come down to differences in the makeup of the dairy a person is consuming.
“The dairy food matrix—which includes the combination of fats, proteins, and other bioactive components—can influence lipid metabolism differently,” said Singar.
Also, different types of dairy trigger different kinds of “postprandial lipid responses,” or changes in levels of fat in the blood after a person eats, he said.
“Whey protein, for instance, has been shown to reduce triglycerides more effectively than casein,” another protein in milk and some dairy products, Singar explained. “But both can still contribute to lipid increases post-ingestion.”
Even though more research needs to be done on the connection between blood pressure, cholesterol, and dairy consumption, milk products are often recommended as part of a healthy diet.
This is because dairy contains a range of beneficial nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, protein, potassium, and more.
When you do eat or drink dairy products, it’s best to choose a low-fat option, advised Lindsay Malone, RDN, LD, registered dietitian and nutrition instructor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
“[Low-fat dairy] is less calorie-dense and has less saturated fat,” she told Health. “If you like milk, choose milk from grass-fed cows to get the most nutritional benefit.” The same goes for other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and kefir.
“I suspect the optimal scenario would be consuming low-fat or no-fat dairy products in limited amounts on a daily or weekly basis as part of an overall healthy diet,” said Downey.
Of course, he added, that should go hand-in-hand with other healthy lifestyle choices, including exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, getting good sleep, avoiding tobacco, and limiting alcohol consumption. Even when it comes to nutrition, dairy intake is just one piece of the puzzle.
“A healthy diet is very complex and includes the need for a variety of healthy food choices,” said Downey.
