Milk may be a risk factor for depression, yogurt and kefir are not
A high intake of dairy may increase the risk of depression. At least, when it comes to non-fermented forms of dairy. Fermented dairy varieties such as yogurt, buttermilk and kefir actually lower the risk of depression. Study Australian epidemiologists at Deakin University analyzed data from 2,603 Finnish men collected in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. That study began in the 1980s. The study participants were 42-60 years old at the time. The men had kept a record of what they ate, on the basis of which the researchers determined their intake of dairy. They distinguished between non-fermented dairy, such as milk and custard, and fermented dairy, such as buttermilk, yogurt, kefir and cheese. Based on their intake, the researchers divided the men into 3 groups or tertiles of approximately equal size. The men in the first tertile had the lowest intake, the men in the third tertile had the highest intake. The researchers followed the men for 26 years. They had access ...