Urgent warning drinking milk 'increases risk of silent killer by a fifth for many of us'

increases the risk of a for around half of the population, research shows.

All cow's milk, even skimmed, is said to be a danger because its sugar, lactose, triggers harmful inflammation and cell damage. This ages the heart faster, researchers say.

But the scientists at Uppsala University in Sweden understand the risk only appears to affect women - because men can better digest the sugar. The team carried out a study involving 101,000 people and found that consuming 400ml of the white stuff each day, about two thirds of a pint, was linked to a five per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease. The illness - sometimes described as a "silent killer" - is one of the most common causes of death in Britain and about 2.3million people have it.

As women in the study drank more milk, their heart risk increased – by 12 per cent for 600ml per day or 21 per cent for 800ml. People in the UK consume an estimated 1.2 litres of milk each per week, on average.

READ MORE:

Large cups at high street coffee shops often contain a pint of liquid and most of it is milk in a latte or cappuccino. The researchers said swapping some milk in your diet with yoghurt would be healthier.

Writing in the journal BMC Medicine, study author Professor Karl Michaëlsson said: “A healthy diet is essential for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Our analysis supports an association between milk intake higher than 300ml per day and higher rates of ischaemic heart disease, and myocardial infarction [heart attack] specifically, in women, but not in men.

“The higher risk in women was evident irrespective of the fat content of the milk. Replacing non-fermented milk with moderate fermented milk intake could lower the risks.”

Fermented milk products include yoghurt, buttermilk and sour cream. The British Heart Foundation says milk is a good source of protein and calcium and people do not need to cut it out but can swap to lower-fat versions to reduce their calorie intake.