The Whole-Food Effect: Milk Supports Healthy Blood Pressure​

Milk and dairy products provide numerous health benefits that go beyond their basic nutritional content.

The structure and composition of milk and dairy products, along with how their components interact, influence how nutrients are digested and absorbed.​

Nutritionists used to focus on individual nutrients, but now we understand that food is more than just a collection of its parts. The health benefits of a food can't be determined by its nutrient content alone – there's a 'whole food effect' that plays a role in your body.​

The way the physical structure, nutrients, and bioactives in food interact is important. It affects how easily your body can access and absorb the energy and nutrients in the food. This interaction can influence how full you feel after eating ^[1], how the food is digested, and the speed at which energy and nutrients are released.​

The 'whole food effect' makes milk and dairy products uniquely nutritious. Each nutrient in milk has a specific role in keeping your body healthy. Milk and dairy products help meet your needs ^[2] for essential nutrients like protein, calcium, and vitamins. There are very few, if any, other foods that naturally offer this unique combination of nutrients ^[3], thanks to the dairy matrix.​

The 'whole food effect' is one reason why getting your nutrients from whole foods usually leads to better results than taking supplements ^[4]. When you eat whole foods, you get a variety of macro and micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals, that help your body absorb and digest the natural goodness from the food. One of the benefits of the dairy matrix is that it enhances the bioavailability of nutrients ^[5], making it easier for your body to absorb the natural goodness of milk.​

Dairy foods can help support healthy blood pressure and metabolic health, thanks to the unique dairy matrix. The special combination of dairy micronutrients, high-quality protein, and bioactive peptides work together to provide "combined protective effects" ^[6].​

Drinking milk is linked to a lower risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) ^[7]. This is important because untreated hypertension can lead to serious conditions like kidney disease, heart disease, and stroke. Milk consumption can also help improve metabolic syndrome ^[8], which is a group of symptoms that increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. These symptoms include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the torso, and high cholesterol levels. Studies show that drinking milk is associated with a "markedly reduced prevalence" ^[9] of metabolic syndrome and improved metabolic health markers ^[10].​