A notable study involving multiple U.S. and Chinese medical researchers has led to an interesting discovery: a specific gene variant may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes for those who consume milk.
This research, detailed in Nature Metabolism, involved a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to explore the connection between milk consumption and a lower diabetes risk.
Previous research about whether drinking cow’s milk can decrease the chances of developing type 2 diabetes had inconsistent results. Some studies found a link, while others didn’t.
Sheridan Littleton and Struan Grant from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia highlighted this new study in a News & Views piece in the same issue of the journal.
The research team wondered if the varying results from past studies might be related to the genetic makeup of the participants.
To test this theory, they carried out a GWAS with tissue samples from about 12,000 Hispanic adults involved in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Their aim was to identify specific genetic variants, known as SNPs, associated with milk consumption.
Using dietary intake estimates from the National Cancer Institute, they discovered a connection with a genetic variant that produces the enzyme lactase. Lactase is essential for breaking down milk sugars.
Most people make lactase during childhood, but many stop as they become adults, leading to lactose intolerance, or what’s medically known as lactase non-persistence (LNP). This condition is linked to an LCT gene variant.
In this groundbreaking study, the researchers found that LNP individuals who also regularly drank milk had a 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Interestingly, this reduced risk wasn’t observed in regular milk consumers who didn’t have the gene variant.
To strengthen their findings, the team conducted a similar analysis using data from the UK Biobank, which showed comparable results.
This suggests that the relationship between milk consumption and diabetes risk may depend on one’s genetic disposition to process lactose.
The researchers believe that their findings could explain the mixed results from earlier studies on milk consumption and diabetes risk.
This study opens the door to a better understanding of the role genetics play in our diet and health, particularly in how certain foods might protect against diseases like type 2 diabetes.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about new way to achieve type 2 diabetes remission, and one avocado a day keeps diabetes at bay.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about 5 dangerous signs you have diabetes-related eye disease, and results showing why pomegranate is super fruit for people with diabetes.
The research findings can be found in Nature Metabolism.
