Scientists seem to have come up with a very simple remedy to delay the symptoms of osteoarthritis, the degenerative joint disease that causes pain and swelling. Of course, the remedy is only valid for women ; it is not applicable to men.
The study, which has been published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research , states that drinking milk every day helps reduce the progression of this disease that has no cure. Although the real causes of this disease are unknown, treating it properly has a clear objective: to relieve symptoms and improve its functioning in daily life.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers conducted an experiment at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston (USA) to analyze the effects of dairy consumption on knee osteoarthritis. In total 2,148 people (888 men and 1,260 women) were examined with a follow-up at 12, 24, 36 and 48 months.
The researchers increased their milk intake: first, from zero to less than three glasses per week; second, four to six glasses per week; and finally, to more than seven glasses per week. As this increase progressed, the width of the space in the women's joints decreased by 0.38 millimeters, 0.29 millimeters, 0.29 millimeters and 0.26 millimeters respectively with the different doses of milk. However, the study revealed that women who ate cheese showed just the opposite: greater disease progression . This is due, according to the authors, to the saturated fatty acids in the cheese.
