Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, January 22 (Reporter Zhang Mengran) A study published in "Nature·Metabolism" on the 22nd showed that adults who cannot produce lactase (non-sustained production of lactase) may suffer from lactation if they increase their milk intake. The risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is reduced.

Studies have shown that increased milk intake changes the levels of specific bacterial species and circulating metabolites in the gut microbiome, which is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, but this result only appears in lactase-deficient individuals.

　　The genotype of the single nucleotide polymorphism rs4988235 of the lactase gene determines whether a person can continue to express lactase in adulthood.

The inability to continuously produce lactase (GG genotype) often results in what is commonly referred to as "lactose intolerance."

　　A team of scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States, Soochow University School of Medicine in China, and other institutions analyzed the Hispanic Community Health Study/Latino Study (HCHS/SOL) during a median follow-up period of 6 years. ) Host genotype, gut microbiome, and blood metabolite levels in 12,653 subjects.

The team assessed the subjects' milk intake through two 24-hour dietary recalls and a food preference questionnaire.

Only among subjects who did not continuously produce lactase, the team found that each increase in milk intake (i.e. one cup of liquid milk) was associated with an approximately 30% reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes.

They also examined the association between milk intake, lactase genotype and type 2 diabetes risk in 167,172 subjects from the UK Biobank.

　　The team found in Spanish and Latino cohorts that milk intake was associated with unique changes in the abundance of intestinal bacteria in individuals who did not continuously produce lactase. The Bifidobacterium observed in the study was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes; milk intake It is also associated with specific changes in blood metabolite levels in subjects with non-sustained lactase production, such as changes in branched-chain amino acids and tryptophan metabolites, both of which are thought to be associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

(Science and Technology Daily)