The Hypocholesteremic Effect of Milk — A Review

Abstract

Each Maasai tribesman in Africa ordinarily consumes 4–5 liters of fermented whole milk per day in addition to substantial quantities of meat. In spite of this diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol, the Maasai have low serum cholesterol levels and a very low incidence of clinical coronary heart disease. In studying this paradox, Mann and co-workers serendipitiously discovered that there is apparently a milk factor (MF) in the fermented milk responsible for the low serum cholesterol levels of the Maasai. A hypocholesteremic effect of fermented whole and skim milk was subsequently confirmed on American volunteers, each consuming 2–4 liters per day. Administration of radioactive acetate to human subjects on the fermented milk diet indicated that cholesterol biosynthesis was inhibited by MF. In later studies with human volunteers, English workers demonstrated a hypocholesteremic effect of unfermented whole and skim milk when consumed at a level of about 2 liters per day per caput for 2 weeks. Although the...