Dairy Calcium Shown to Reduce Fat Absorption

Dairy is proving a strong ally in the fight against obesity. A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, showed that calcium from dairy products, not from supplements, significantly diminished the levels of fat in the blood after consumption.

For the study, 18 subjects were randomly assigned four test meals, with all subjects consuming all meals: high (HC meal: 172 mg/MJ), medium (MC meal: 84 mg/MJ), or low (LC meal: 15 mg/MJ) amounts of calcium from dairy products, or a high amount of calcium given as a calcium carbonate supplement (S meal: 183 mg/MJ).

Consumption of dairy calcium significantly decreased the postprandial lipid response by 19% after the HC meal and 17% after the MC meal compared to the LC meal, and 15% and 17% after the MC meal and the HC meal, respectively, than after the S meal.

The researchers concluded: Increased calcium intakes from dairy products attenuate postprandial lipidemia, most probably because of reduced fat absorption, whereas supplementary calcium carbonate does not exert such an effect. This may be due to differences in the chemical form of calcium or to cofactors in dairy products. Calcium did not affect appetite sensation, glucose metabolism, or gut hormone secretion.

The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007; 85:678-687; see http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/3/678).