The Study
Associations of dairy product consumption with mortality in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Italy cohort.
This study watched what people ate over many years and saw if they got sick or died. It found that people who ate a little milk might live a bit longer, but it didn't prove milk made them live longer—maybe they were just healthier in other ways too.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists tracked what 45,000 Italians ate for nearly 15 years to see if dairy affected how long they lived.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 552 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The benefit was small and only seen in a narrow range of milk intake — it doesn’t mean milk is a miracle food, but maybe a moderate amount is linked to slightly longer life in this group.
- 2People who drank about 1–1.5 cups of milk a day were 25% less likely to die during the study.
- 3People who drank more than 2 cups a day didn’t get any extra benefit.
- 4Other dairy like yogurt, cheese, or butter didn’t seem to matter.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The American journal of clinical nutrition
Year
2019
Authors
V. Pala, S. Sieri, P. Chiodini, G. Masala, D. Palli, A. Mattiello, S. Panico, R. Tumino, G. Frasca, Francesca Fasanelli, F. Ricceri, C. Agnoli, S. Grioni, V. Krogh
Related Content
Claims (7)
People who eat cheese have the same or lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who eat less cheese.
People who eat cheese do not have lower rates of death from cancer compared to those who eat less cheese.
Adults who drank 120 to 160 grams of milk per day had a 25% lower risk of dying from any cause during the study period compared to those who did not drink milk. This lower risk was not seen in people who drank more than 200 grams per day or who consumed other dairy products.
In a large study of Italians followed for 15 years, eating yogurt, cheese, butter, or getting calcium from dairy products showed no measurable link to deaths from any cause, cancer, or heart disease.
In Italy, eating dairy products does not change the likelihood of dying from cancer or heart disease.
Among people in the EPIC-Italy study, drinking more milk than about two cups per day did not lower the risk of dying from any cause compared to drinking less milk or no milk at all.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.