Milk boosts brain health

A new study has find a possible correlation between milk consumption and brain health and has demonstrated that consuming milk can be good for one's brain.

The study conducted at University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center has found a correlation between milk consumption and the levels of a naturally-occurring antioxidant called glutathione in the brain in older, healthy adults.

Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., professor, asserted that they have long thought of milk as being very important for one's bones and very important for on'e muscles and this study suggested that it could be important for one's brain as well.

In-Young Choi's team asked the 60 participants in the study about their diets in the days leading up to brain scans, which they used to monitor levels of glutathione which is a powerful antioxidant in the brain.

The researchers found that participants who had indicated they had drunk milk recently had higher levels of glutathione in their brains. This is important, the researchers said, because glutathione could help stave off oxidative stress and the resulting damage caused by reactive chemical compounds produced during the normal metabolic process in the brain. Oxidative stress is known to be associated with a number of different diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and many other conditions.

Choi said that antioxidants were a built-in defense system for body to fight against this damage and the levels of antioxidants in brain could be regulated by various factors such as diseases and lifestyle choices.

For the study, researchers used high-tech brain scanning equipment housed at KU Medical Center's Hoglund Brain Imaging Center.

Choi asserted that their equipment enabled them to understand complex processes occurring that were related to health and disease and the advanced magnetic resonance technology allowed them to be in a unique position to get the best pictures of what was going on in the brain.

The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.