Drinking Milk Benefits Weight Loss

BEERSHEBA, IsraelAdults who drink two glasses of milk daily lost an average of 12 pounds over a 2-year period than  individuals who skipped drinking milk, according to a new study from researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest adults who consumed the most milk (nearly 2 glasses per day) and had the highest vitamin D levels at six months, lost more weight after two years than those who drank little or no milk or milk products on average. Researchers also found that each additional 6-ounce serving of milk or milk products (about 3/4 of a glass of milk) was associated with 10 pounds successful weight loss above the average, at six months.

Researchers followed more than 300 overweight or at risk men and women ages 40 to 65 who followed a low-fat, Mediterranean or low-carb diet for two years. Regardless of diet, researchers found participants with the highest dairy calcium intake six months into the study (averaging about 580mg per day) lost about 12 pounds at the end of the two years, compared to about seven pounds for those with the lowest dairy calcium intake (averaging about 150mg).

Beyond calcium, researchers also found that vitamin D levels independently affected weight loss success and in line with previous research, milk and milk products were the top contributors to vitamin D in the diets of the study participants.