Link between dairy products and reducing risk of diabetes

The consumption of whole-fat dairy foods has been found to reduce the risk of diabetes in a new study. Scientists in the US have examined the link between such dairy products and higher levels of trans-palmitoleate in the blood which was associated with lower fat, higher levels of good cholesterol, lower insulin resistance and a reduced risk of diabetes .
The research, carried out at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, the National Institutes of Health, the University of New Mexico and the University of Washingto, showed that people who had high levels of palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid, in their blood were 60 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with low levels.
Palmitoleic acid, which is a component of fatty tissue, is a fatty acid present in most human tissues and the liver, can be obtained from eating animal, vegetable and fish oils . Previous studies have also suggested that the acid may directly protect against insulin resistance and problems with metabolic regulation.
However, the study, which used data from a previous study on cardiovascular health and was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, does not fully offer sufficient evidence that consuming dairy products can lower diabetes risk, and further research is needed to assess the potential health benefits of trans-palmitoleate.