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from the it-does-a-body-good-(in-small-doses) dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
[...]Research on 5,834 U.S. adults by Brigham Young University exercise science professor Larry Tucker, Ph.D., found people who drink low-fat milk experience several years less biological aging than those who drink high-fat (2% and whole) milk.
[...]Tucker investigated the relationship between telomere length and both milk intake frequency (daily drinkers vs. weekly drinkers or less) and milk fat content consumed (whole vs. 2% vs. 1% vs. skim). Telomeres are the nucleotide endcaps of human chromosomes. They act like a biological clock and they're extremely correlated with age; each time a cell replicates, humans lose a tiny bit of the endcaps. Therefore, the older people get, the shorter their telomeres.
And, apparently, the more high-fat milk people drink, the shorter their telomeres are, according to the new BYU study, published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. The study revealed that for every 1% increase in milk fat consumed (drinking 2% vs. 1% milk), telomeres were 69 base pairs shorter in the adults studied, which translated into more than four years in additional biological aging. When Tucker analyzed the extremes of milk drinkers, adults who consumed whole milk had telomeres that were a striking 145 base pairs shorter than non-fat milk drinkers.
-- submitted from IRC
Larry A. Tucker. Milk Fat Intake and Telomere Length in U.S. Women and Men: The Role of the Milk Fat Fraction. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2019; 2019: 1 DOI: 10.1155/2019/1574021
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Saturday January 25 2020, @03:23PM (3 children)
As I understand it, milk came to be so mammals could feed their young. Once they can eat non-milk food, there is no reason to drink any milk.
True, but not the whole story.
People from some parts of Europe or East Africa are well adapted to drinking milk as adults, as a way of surviving poor diet. Most other people are not well adapted, and
may even be lactose intolerant or have problems with some milk protein.
So, which kind of people did this study test?
And was it funded by purveyors of "milk with the milk removed"?
What happens to the telomeres of people who drink alcohol free beer? (Its obviously too late for their brain cells, but their livers might still be in good nick).
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @04:11PM (2 children)
It's not really all that true. Egg whites are "for" nourishing bird embryos. Vegetables are "for" nourishing plant seeds. Humans drink milk the same way we eat vegetables and eggs, because food is food.
Obviously if someone isn't genetically suited for drinking milk they shouldn't drink it, much like some people shouldn't eat shellfish or peanuts or whatever other perfectly normal food doesn't agree with their personal biology.
All that said, this study sure seems like junk science to me. Telomeres aren't biological age, and both telomere length and milk drinking are affected by and correlated with a bunch of other factors.
Drink whatever milk you like, if any. I'm sticking with 1% - skim being surprisingly hard to find in the brand I prefer - but only because I like it better.
(Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Monday January 27 2020, @02:29PM (1 child)
Egg yolks are "for" nourishing bird embryos.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:00AM
And snakes. And me.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.