Dairy and Inflammation

Recently, my father, brother, and I decided to sit down for a movie and snacks. As my father came into the living room with a bowl of popcorn and a cheese platter, I noticed how difficult it was for him to walk. My father has rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is an inflammatory disorder that affects many joints, especially those in the hands and feet. I looked down at the cheese platter and wondered if it was a friend or foe to my dad’s disease or any inflammatory disorder, in general. I typed into google “Dairy and Inflammation,” and there were many non-reputable articles that pinned dairy as a culprit of inflammation. I wanted to bring some light to any sufferers of these diseases and present the findings of what the current literature has to say.

Bordoni and colleagues conducted a review of 52 clinical trials investigating inflammatory markers in relation to the consumption of dairy products. From the literature that was examined, they suggested that dairy products have anti-inflammatory properties in individuals not suffering from a milk allergy. They noticed that these benefits were more apparent in those with metabolic syndrome. In relation to the type of dairy products, fermented dairy items had the most anti-inflammatory properties (Bordoni & Colleagues, 2017)

Not included in the previous mentioned review, a six week cross-over study was conducted on patients with metabolic syndrome who typically consumed low-dairy. The purpose of the study was to see what effect eating three servings of low-fat dairy (LFD) had on systemic inflammation and liver enzymes. The participants were randomized to either receive three servings of low-fat dairy (10 oz 1% milk, 6 oz nonfat yogurt, 4 oz 2% cheese) or a carbohydrate-based control (1.5 oz granola bar and 12 oz 100% juice) for six weeks. After a washout phase of 4 weeks, the participants were allocated to the alternate dietary treatment. Lower concentrations of liver enzymes were found after the LFD period, specifically alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST). These liver enzymes can signify if the liver is inflamed or injured. Interleukin proteins, which stimulate an immune response such as inflammation, had decreased by over 50% during the LFD period as compared to the carbohydrate control. In addition, women had lower inflammatory markers – specifically tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and monocyte chemoattractant −1 (MCP-1) following the LFD period. Although there were no significant changes in any of the plasma inflammatory compounds, the researchers were still able to conclude that three servings of dairy a day improved liver function and systemic inflammation in their subjects with metabolic syndrome (Dugan & Colleagues, 2016).

Obesity is associated with chronic systemic inflammation since adipose tissue (fat tissue) promotes an increase in the production and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. A 2013 review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that consuming dairy products do not cause an adverse effect on biomarkers of inflammation in overweight or obese adults (Labonté & Colleagues, 2013).

In relation to rheumatoid arthritis, a study published in Clinical Rheumatology found that dairy products were one of the dietary items that may have a protective effect on RA development along with mushrooms and citrus fruit (HeYu, 2016).

This body of research proved to be contrary to what many blogs and articles say to be true about dairy’s association to inflammation. Many sufferers do take on a dairy free diet and experience improvements in their symptoms. However, this improvement may be due to other underlying reasons, such as a dairy sensitivity that may be specific to their own body. I encourage you listen to what feels good to you. If you are interested in going dairy-free to see if your inflammatory symptoms improve, then I would encourage you to consume other foods that are good sources of calcium (salmon, green veggies, almonds, and calcium fortified foods), so that you do not miss out on this essential mineral.

References

• Alessandra Bordoni, Francesca Danesi, Dominique Dardevet, Didier Dupont, Aida S. Fernandez, Doreen Gille, Claudia Nunes dos Santos, Paula Pinto, Roberta Re, Didier Rémond, Danit R. Shahar & Guy Vergères (2017) Dairy products and inflammation: A review of the clinical evidence, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57:12, 2497-2525, DOI:10.1080/10408398.2014.967385

• Christine E. Dugan , PhD,David Aguilar , PhD,Young-Ki Park , PhD,Ji-Young Lee , PhD &Maria Luz Fernandez , PhD (2016) Dairy Consumption Lowers Systemic Inflammation and Liver Enzymes in Typically Low-Dairy Consumers with Clinical Characteristics of Metabolic Syndrome, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 35(3), 255-261, DOI:10.1080/07315724.2015.1022637

• Marie-Ève Labonté, Patrick Couture, Caroline Richard, Sophie Desroches, Benoît Lamarche; Impact of dairy products on biomarkers of inflammation: a systematic review of randomized controlled nutritional intervention studies in overweight and obese adults, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 97, Issue 4, 1 April 2013, Pages 706–717, https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.052217

• Jing HeYu WangMin FengXia ZhangYue-Bo JinXue LiLin-Chong SuShuang LiuAi-Xue WangXiao-Mei ChenLi-Jun WuXiao-Xia YuNing XuXiang-Yuan LiuHui-Ming Yan et al. (2016) Dietary intake and risk of rheumatoid arthritis—a cross section multicenter study, Clinical Rheumatology,35(12), 2901–2908.