PhD defence: Dairy products and risk markers of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes

The role of butter and milk

Milk and butter

Sara Engel

PhD thesis

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide. Type 2 diabetes is on the rise and is associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Dairy fat is high in saturated fatty acids, which are known to increase LDL-cholesterol in the blood. LDL-cholesterol is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, dietary guidelines recommend low-fat dairy products. But, this is not in agreement with observational studies that find no association between dairy and cardiovascular disease and even point to a beneficial association with type 2 diabetes.

In addition, there seems to be a knowledge gap when it comes to intervention studies examining the effect of specific dairy products on health. Therefore, the overall aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate the effects of individual dairy products given as whole foods on risk markers of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes with focus on butter and milk.

2018, 137 pages.

Time

5 April 2018, 13:00

Place

Auditorium A1-01.01, Festauditoriet, Bülowsvej 17, Frederiksberg.

Opponents 

Professor Inge Tetens (chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Professor Kjeld Hermansen, Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Denmark.

Professor Ian Givens, Centre for Food, Nutrition and Health, University of Reading, UK.

Supervisor

Associate professor Tine Tholstrup, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Co-supervisor

Professor Anne Raben, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.