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The rich fat dairy products protect against the risk of anovulation while lighter dairy products are associated with increased risk, according to the results of a published on the website of the journal "Human Reproduction" American prospective study

It has been suggested that dairy products and lactose impair fertility by affecting ovulatory function but the few studies in humans have not yielded conclusive results, recall Dr. Jorge Chavarro of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues.

In a prospective study, they followed 18,555 married women, premenopausal with no history of infertility, who tried to conceive or had been pregnant during a period of eight years. Their diet was assessed twice during the follow-up, using a food frequency questionnaire. In total, 438 women reported infertility due to ovulation disorder.

Compared with women consuming a low fat dairy product or less per week, those who took at least two per day were exposed to a 85% higher risk of anovulatory infertility.

In contrast, women consuming at least one high-fat dairy per day had a risk of anovulation 27% lower than that of women who ate a high-fat dairy products a week or less.

"Consumption of dairy products as a whole did not appear associated with the risk of anovulatory infertility, but when the poor and products high in fat were considered separately, we observed a positive association between consumption of dairy products low in fats than five servings per week and the risk of anovulatory infertility, and an inverse association between the consumption of high-fat dairy products and the risk of developing [anovulatory infertility], "says Dr. Chavarro in a news magazine "Human Reproduction".

By focusing on specific products in this category, the authors found that each additional serving per day of low-fat dairy products, such as yogurt, increases the risk of anovulatory infertility by 11%, keeping a total daily intake calories unchanged.

In contrast, each additional serving per day of high-fat dairy products such as whole milk, was found to be associated with a decreased risk of 22%.

In addition, for women eating ice cream two to three times per week the risk of anovulatory infertility appeared 38% lower than in women who consumed less than once per week.

However, no association was found between other important components of dairy products, such as lactose, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D and the risk of anovulatory infertility.

A likely explanation for this beneficial effect of high-fat dairy products is the action of a substance soluble in fat, the authors suggest. They point out that the whole milk and other dairy products rich in fats contain more than that measured in fat dairy products concentration of estrogen. In addition, specific fatty acids in dairy products themselves could also have a beneficial effect on ovulatory function, the researchers noted.