Dairy intake and risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome: a narrative review

Vimaleswaran, K. S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8485-8930 and Mohan, V. (2026) Dairy intake and risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome: a narrative review. Nutrition, 144. 113064. ISSN 1873-1244 doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2025.113064

Abstract/Summary

Dairy products are important components of human health. While some studies claim that dairy increases the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and metabolic syndrome (MetS), several large studies have shown the beneficial impact of dairy consumption. The objective of this review is to highlight the effect of dairy intake on T2D and MetS using recent evidence (published within the last decade) from large epidemiological studies, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and Mendelian randomization (MR) and multi-omics studies, and to provide plausible underlying biological mechanisms linking dairy consumption with the risk of T2D and MetS. Given the increasing prevalence of T2D and MetS, it is important to understand the benefits and/or risks of milk and dairy products in the diet. Based on all available evidence from large-scale epidemiological studies, MR analyses, and RCTs, the beneficial impact of dairy products as part of a healthy diet plan appears to be an additional way of mitigating the risk of T2D and MetS. The evidence for a protective effect appears to be undisputed for fermented dairy products like yogurt. For milk, most studies were either protective or neutral, with very few showing a deleterious effect, and with respect to cheese and butter, there were studies showing a deleterious effect, but the grade of evidence was weak. Further mechanistic studies combined with large prospective studies and RCTs in ethnically diverse populations, taking into account sufficient dose and duration, are warranted to get a more complete understanding of dairy consumption and T2D risk.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/128282
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.nut.2025.113064
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH) Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Human Nutrition Research Group
Publisher	Elsevier
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item