From a public health perspective, if people consume more low-fat dairy foods rather than high-fat dairy foods, they will benefit from a reduced risk of stroke and other positive health outcomes.”

Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden say the highest consumers of low-fat dairy who on average took four servings a day, along with more than five full-fat portions were 12 percent less likely to have a stroke.

According to the report published in the journal Stroke, the study followed 74,961 healthy adults and found that full-fat milk, cream, and cheese didn’t show any positive or negative effects on the risk of stroke.

“From a public health perspective, if people consume more low-fat dairy foods rather than high-fat dairy foods, they will benefit from a reduced risk of stroke and other positive health outcomes,” said Dr. Larsson.

The report highlighted that the study just managed to show an association and not a cause and effect relation between consuming skimmed dairy products and stroke risk.

The minerals and nutrients such as calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamin D found in dairy products lower the stroke risk, the study suggests.

In addition, “low-fat dairy foods but not high-fat dairy foods has been shown to reduce blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a strong risk factor for stroke,” Dr. Larsson noted.