Beauty Health for Life

Starting a milk drinking habit as a child can lead to lifelong benefits, even improving physical ability and balance in older age, according to new research. A new study published in Age & Aging found an increase of about one glass of milk a day as a child was linked to a 5% faster walking time and 25% lesser chance of poor balance in older age. The researchers suggest a "public health benefit of childhood milk intake on physical function in old age" – a finding that has huge potential for adults over 65, a population expected reach more than 70 million by the year 2030, doubling over just 30 years.

The team of British researchers used historical diet records from two large studies to assess the childhood habits of more than 1,500 men ages 62-86. They measured the impact of diet, specifically milk, protein, calcium and fat intake, on current performance and mobility in follow-up. Elderly participants were put through a series of activities, including walking, get-up-and-go, and balance tests. Childhood calcium, protein and milk intake were all associated with advantages in mobility later in life.

The researchers also found that childhood milk drinkers were also likely to be adult milk drinkers, emphasizing the benefits of establishing lifelong healthy habits. Among the many health habits to begin at a young age, experts recognize the importance of beginning the day with breakfast. In fact, studies show that milk drinkers and breakfast eaters have more nutritious diets than non-milk drinkers and breakfast skippers. Milk in the morning is a healthy habit that helps provide kids with nutrients they need for the day and benefits that extend well beyond the morning.

While decades of research support the bone-building benefits of milk, this is the first study to specifically find a physical performance benefit that can last a lifetime. Milk is the top food source of bone-building calcium and vitamin D in the American diet, and each glass provides 8 grams of high-quality protein. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend two glasses of milk for toddlers (ages 2-3), 2.5 cups for children (ages 4-8), and 3 cups for adolescents, teens and adults Milk at breakfast is an ideal opportunity to help your kids start the day right, and get the recommended milk each day.

Obese, postmenopausal women are at greater risk for developing breast cancer and their cancers tend to be more aggressive than those in lean counterparts. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the journal Cancer Research shows how this risk might be prevented.

“By using nutrient tracers for fat and sugar, we tracked where the body stored excess calories. In lean models, excess fat and glucose were taken up by the liver, mammary and skeletal tissues. In obese models, excess fat and glucose were taken up by tumors, fueling their growth,” says Erin Giles, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at the CU Cancer Center and the paper’s lead author.

In short, if you are lean, excess calories go to healthy tissue. If you are obese, excess calories feed the tumor.

“This implies that the menopausal window may be an opportunity for women to control their breast cancer risk through weight management,” Giles says.

In this study, Giles worked with a team of scientists including postdoctoral fellows Elizabeth Wellberg and Sonali Jindal, as well as faculty members Steve Anderson, Pepper Schedin, Ann Thor and Paul Maclean. Their study also showed that tumors from obese animals had increased levels of the progesterone receptor, and this receptor appears to give tumors a metabolic advantage for growth. To extend their findings to humans, they recruited gene analysis experts David Astling and Aik-Choon Tan who analyzed 585 human breast cancers and found that human tumors expressing the progesterone receptor had the same metabolic advantage.

“Basically, we saw an abnormal metabolic response to fat and sugar in the obese that, in many ways, mirrors the response to fat and sugar in Type II diabetes,” Giles says. Noticing this similarity, the group tested the use of the common Type II diabetes drug, Metformin, in their model of postmenopausal breast cancer.

“With treatment, tumor size was dramatically decreased in the obese, and tumors showed reduced expression of the progesterone receptor,” Giles says.

Using a pre-clinical model, the investigators found that weight gain during menopause is particularly bad for those who are obese when entering menopause. Together, the results of this study suggest that the combination of obesity and weight gain during menopause can impact breast cancer in two ways. First, tumors that arise in obese women appear to have a metabolic advantage, and second, the inability to store excess calories in healthy tissues may further fuel tumor growth.

“While drugs may be useful in controlling breast cancer risk in obese, postmenopausal women, our results imply that a combination of diet and exercise may be equally if not more beneficial,” Giles says.

The group’s ongoing studies are testing whether interventions such as diet and exercise, during the period of menopausal weight gain, can improve tumor outcomes.