Drinking Milk May Help You Get Rid of Unwanted Weight and Decrease Your Waist

I recently have been working very hard to get more healthy. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and my doctor says I need to whittle down my waist size, even if just a little. She says a smaller waist will make all the difference. Yes, I have a bit of weight I could also lose, but she is not interested so much in that. She says a smaller waist will stabilize and lower my blood sugar. So I needed to know more.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that drinking higher amounts of milk or eating dairy products may do this very thing.

Calcium and Vitamin D Work Hand in Hand in Successful Weight Loss

About 12 ounces of milk or 580 mg of dairy calcium taken by adults for six months lost 12 pounds, according to a two year study. Those that only drank about half a glass of milk or about 150 mg dairy calcium a day lost 7 pounds after two years. Another interesting outcome of the study was that higher Vitamin D levels were linked with successful loss of pounds.

The study included 300 overweight women and men, 40-65 years of age. The ate either low fat, low carb or Mediterranean diets. They kept a record of how many dairy products as well as the rest of their food intake that they took in a day. The dairy foods included low and regular white or chocolate milk, low and regular fat yogurts and white or yellow hard cheeses.

The Studies Emphasize DAIRY Calcium and Vitamin D

The participants also had their Vitamin D levels measured and BMI was monitored. The results concluded that getting more dairy calcium and vitamin D in your diet is related to weight loss. How exactly is not known but one theory is that more fat is lost through the stool.

Vitamin D levels seemed to play an important role as well. The participants started out with low levels of Vitamin D but as the levels increased so did the weight loss.

Our Bodies Will Make Vitamin D from the Sunlight

Vitamin D is unique in that it is made by our bodies when we are exposed to sunlight. Ten minutes a day with your arms and legs and upper chest exposed without sunblock can give you all the D you need in a day. Including Vitamin D in your Diet is a sure way to make sure your levels are excellent and increasing your success with weight loss. More and more studies are proving that this is true.

Vitamin D enriched Milk is an excellent source of vitamin D and it is better than the high fat and calorie choices.

Other great sources of vitamin D is 1 cup of tuna packed in oil, or 3 ounces of Salmon. Milk of course if it is enriched with vitamin D and yogurts are excellent sources of vitamin D as well as Calcium and the hearty cereals are good sources for D or even calcium. But the studies do point toward dairy calcium and vitamin D directly for weight loss.

Be Sure to Include Your Physician in Decisions Related to Diet and Health

The FDA has recommended guidelines for the amount of vitamin D and calcium you should take in each day, but my doctor has stepped those recommendations up a bit because she wants the results of blood sugar control as well, so be sure to check with your physicians as to the amounts needed. Also she increased my Fiber and Omega 3's...but that's another story.

Source:

WebMD

Prevention.com