Middle-aged men who drink one or two glasses of pasteurized milk a day may double their risk of Parkinson's Disease (PD) later in life, according to research published in the prestigious Journal of Neurology. Scientists are uncertain of the cause of the increased risk, whether it is due to an ingredient or contaminant in the milk, but believe that it is not related to calcium.
Because the study only looked at men, it is uncretain if this risk is applicable to women as well. The 30-year long study followed over 7,500 men between the ages of 45 and 68 who were part of the Honolulu Heart Program. During the study, 128 men developed Parkinson's disease, which is a degenerative disease of the nervous system. Habits of the 128 men who developed PD were analyzed.
Those men who drank more than 16 ounces of milk (about 2 glasses) each day were 2.3 times more likely to develop Parkinson's than those who didn't drink any milk. During each year, 6.9 cases of Parkinson's occurred per 10,000 men who drank no milk; however, among those who drank more than 16 ounces daily, 14.9 cases per 10,000 men occurred. Overall, however, researchers pointed out that the Parkinson's risk was still very low, even among the men who drank a lot of milk.
The findings are in line with a previous study that found eating a lot of dairy products increased the risk of Parkinson's in men (the findings did not apply to women). In the current study, no link between calcium and Parkinson's was found, so researchers believe another component or contaminant of milk is responsible. Further studies are needed to determine what that component may be.
