Milk and Cholesterol

Raise your glass to this new finding: according to UK scientists drinking whole milk doesn't boost LDL cholesterol — the "bad" cholesterol. When 32 men doubled their consumption of milk to two cups a day, their levels of bad cholesterol didn't rise, even though the men drank only full-fat milk. On average, the participants' total daily fat intake increased by 14g a day, five of which were saturated.

"It's likely these increases weren't significant enough to raise heart-disease risk during a six-week period," says study author Parveen Yaqoob. "Remember, even full-fat milk is only about four percent fat."

And now there's a new reason for drinking any kind of milk: Irish researchers recently found that regular milk consumption reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease.

According to Professor Peter Elwood of the University of Cardiff, there is currently "no convincing evidence" that milk is harmful for heart health. In fact, the evidence suggests that milk consumption leads to a "small but worthwhile reduction in heart disease and stroke risk".

Professor Elwood believes that milk has been unfairly targeted as a cause of many health problems, from allergies to weight gain. He decided to review 10 large studies carried out in the UK, the USA, Japan, the Netherlands and Italy.

The studies involved over 400,000 men and women, who were monitored between eight and 28 years.