Low-fat milk linked to slower ageing in adults: Study.

ISLAMABAD -- Drinking low-fat milk is associated with less ageing in adults, according to a new study which supports existing dietary guidelines which do not recommend high-fat milk as part of a healthy diet.

The study, published in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, assessed 5,834 US adults and found that people who drink low-fat milk experience biological ageing slower by several years than those who drink high-fat (2 per cent and whole) milk.

"It was surprising how strong the difference was. If you're going to drink high-fat milk, you should be aware that doing so is predictive of, or related to some significant consequences," said Larry Tucker, study co-author from Brigham Young University (BYU) in the US.

The researchers analysed the link between the length of the end of chromosomes -- the coiled structure in which DNA is present in cell nucleus -- milk intake frequency and fat content consumed.

According to the scientists, these chromosome ends, called telomeres, act like a biological clock, and they're correlated with age.

Each time a cell...