Nations
That Consume a Lot of Milk Also Win a Lot of Nobel Prizes
Nations that consume a lot of milk and milk products also
tend to have a lot of Nobel laureates among their populations, suggest the
authors of a letter, published in Practical Neurology.
Research published last year in the New England Journal
of Medicine reported a strong association between a nation's chocolate
consumption and Nobel laureate prowess, speculating that the flavonoid content
of chocolate was behind the boost in brain power.
This got the letter authors thinking. As chocolate is
often combined with milk, could it be the amount of milk/milk products consumed
per head that fuels Nobel Prize success?
They looked at the 2007 data from the Food and
Agriculture Organization on per capita milk consumption in 22 countries as well
as the information provided by the author of the chocolate theory, and found a
significant association.
Sweden has the most Nobel laureates per 10 million of its
population (33). Although, it hosts the Nobel committee, which some might argue
could introduce an element of bias; it also consumes the most milk per head of
the population, getting through 340kg every year.
And Switzerland, which knocks back 300kg of the white
stuff every year, has a Nobel haul of similar proportions (32).
At the other end of the scale, China has the lowest
number of Nobel laureates in its population. But it also has the lowest milk
consumption of the countries studied -- at around 25kg a year.
There does seem to be a ceiling effect, however, note the
authors, with no discernible impact beyond an annual per capita consumption of
350kg, as Finland's Nobel haul seems to attest.
Is milk consumption therefore simply a reflection of a
strong educational system, or do Nobel Prize winners celebrate by drinking it,
query the authors?
But there is a plausible biological explanation for the
link: milk is rich in vitamin D, and this may boost brain power, the evidence
suggests.
"So to improve your chances of winning Nobel prizes
you should not only eat more chocolate but perhaps drink milk too: or strive
for synergy with hot chocolate," conclude the authors, who highlight their
conflicts of interest, which include a tendency to take milk with cereal and
coffee, and to eat chocolate whenever the opportunity arises.
Source: ScienceDaily
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1309067
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