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Here’s another reason to love buttermilk even more. A new study suggests that the fermented dairy drink could actually help improve heart health.
The findings, published in the journal Gut, showed that buttermilk, as well as other fermented dairy products, contain molecules that could help lower the production of cholesterol and other harmful blood lipids in the body. This then leads to a lower risk of having a heart attack.
Researchers from France explored how lipids, the organic compounds including fats, oils and hormones present in milk products, affect cardiovascular risks in people. They focused on polar lipids, which were previously found effective to cut cholesterol absorption in the intestine of mouse subjects in the lab.
“While polar lipids are present in most milk products, buttermilk and butter serum contain higher concentrations,” Marie-Caroline Michalski, study lead researcher from the French National Agricultural Research Institute, INRA, said.
Michalski and her team recruited 58 overweight post-menopausal women to further explore how such lipids could help improve heart health. The researchers asked the participants to add cream cheese to their daily diet, which is known for its high amounts of polar lipids.
Each participant consumed cream cheese for one month. Following an analysis of their health, the research team found the women had significantly lower bad cholesterol, triglyceride and other contributors to cardiometabolic risk.
Michalski said having 5g per day of milk polar lipids helped reduce bad cholesterol by nearly 8.7 per cent. Her team hopes the findings could help create new nutritional strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk factors in people.
“We cannot rule out that the daily consumption of regular buttermilk for longer periods may also contribute to maintain a good blood lipid profile in countries where liquid buttermilk is traditionally consumed, this would now be important to verify,” Michalski said.
Source: Medical Daily
