Abstract

Milk intake is widely recommended for healthy diet, not only for bone growth and maintenance, but also as a protein, calcium and magnesium sources as part of an adequate diet. Many research suggest that milk and dairy products are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Milk and dairy products are low Glycemic index (GI) and Glycemic load (GL) foods. The GI and GL are useful tools to choose foods to help control blood glucose levels in people with diabetes. The GI and GL of milk are 32~42 and 4~5, respectively, and which are about 1/2 and 1/5 of boiled rice. The mechanisms underlying the effects of dairy on T2DM development includes the calcium and vitamin D content in dairy foods and the possible positive effect of high milk and calcium intake on weight control. The role of dairy products on reducing the risk of diabetes can be inferred from the reports that lower serum IGF-1 levels were positively associated with diabetes and the girls with low milk intake had significantly lower IGF-1. Accumulating data from both patients and animal models suggest that microbial ecosystems associated with the human body, especially the gut microbiota, may be associated with several important diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It was thought that fermented milk containing lots of probiotics can be useful for controling blood glucose levels and preventing complication of diabetes, but sucrose in commercial yogurt should be substituted. There are some reports of oligosaccharide, xylitol, and stevia as a potentially useful sweetener in the diabetic diet.

Keywords

• dairy products;
• diabetes