Sep 16, 2014 11:21 AM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Consuming high-fat dairy products could reduce the risk of developing diabetes, according to a recent study.

Researchers from  Lund University in Sweden that people with the highest consumption of high-fat dairy products (8 or more portions per day) have a 23 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest consumption (1 or less per day).

"Our findings suggest, that in contrast to animal fats in general, fats specific to dairy products may have a role in prevention of type 2 diabetes," researcher Ulrika Ericson said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from nearly 27,000 individuals from the population-based Malmo Diet and Cancer cohort. Dietary data was collected with a modified diet history method. During 14 years of follow up, 2,860 incident type 2 diabetes cases were identified. Modeling was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) of diabetes incidence in quintiles of energy adjusted dietary intakes. The model included adjustments for age, sex, season, diet assessment method version, total energy intake, body mass index, leisure time physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and education.

"Our observations may contribute to clarifying previous findings regarding dietary fats and their food sources in relation to type 2 diabetes. The decreased risk at high intakes of high- fat dairy products, but not of low-fat dairy products, indicate that dairy fat, at least partly, explains observed protective associations between dairy intake and type 2 diabetes," Ericson added. "Meat intake was associated with increased risk of developing diabetes regardless of fat content."

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna, Austria.

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