Investigating dairy to improve insulin resistance

Introduction

Insulin resistance is a key underlying mechanism of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is often diagnosed based on impaired fasting glucose (IFG). The prevalence of IFG and type 2 diabetes is about 40%^[1] in the U.S., making it one of the most important issues present in healthcare. Dietary patterns are one of the leading causes of insulin resistance, with high energy intake^[2] being one of the leading risk factors for developing insulin resistance.

As dietary patterns are a key contributor to insulin resistance, it stands to reason that dietary modification may ameliorate it. Dairy is one food group that has been investigated as a potential dietary modification to address insulin resistance. Cohort studies^[3] and observational studies^[4] have shown that dairy may be beneficial for insulin resistance.

In addition to cohort and observational studies, several randomized trials have examined the effects of dairy on insulin resistance, with varying results. For example, one study^[5] found that increased dairy intake did not alter insulin resistance in hyperinsulinemic adults. Another study^[6] found that consuming dairy did improve insulin resistance in otherwise healthy adults. The varying results of randomized trials make it difficult to form overall conclusions, suggesting that pooling results would be helpful. The present study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the effect of dairy intake on insulin resistance, bodyweight, and waist circumference.

Insulin resistance is a key mechanism of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Dairy has been investigated as a dietary intervention for improving insulin resistance, with varying results in randomized controlled trials. The present study is a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of dairy on insulin resistance, bodyweight, and waist circumference.

Who and what was studied?

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