Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Large observational studies reports that individuals consuming high amounts of dairy products, such as milk, cheese and yogurt, have a lower risk to develop type 2 diabetes than individuals consuming low amounts or not consuming any dairy products. However, since it is difficult to measure precisely the consumption of dairy products with dietary questionnaires, the confidence accorded to these results remains limited. This is particularly problematic to translate these results into dietary recommendations for the population. To counter this, our group did multiple studies where the diet of the participants was entirely controlled, which allowed to measure with exactitude the quantity of dairy products consumed and their effects on health. However, no evidence of positive effects on blood sugar and insulin, the two major risk factors for type 2 diabetes, was observed during the 4 to 6 weeks intervention. Hence, it is very risk to establish dietary recommendations for the population regarding dairy products. Therefore, it is essential to improve the way we measure dairy products consumption in large observational studies, in order to validate their results and to provide robust dietary recommendations to the population. By using the results from the fully controlled studies, our fist goal is to develop a new method to objectively measure the quantity of dairy products consumed from a blood sample. This method will be based on the quantification of specific molecules present in the blood after dairy consumption, named biomarkers of food intake. The present project aims to apply this new methodology to the largest observational studies in Quebec, the CARTaGENE cohort. This will allow to provide robust evidence on the effect of dairy products on type 2 diabetes prevention and establish high-quality dietary recommendations for the Canadian population.