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For the new study, gene variants from tissue samples from 12,000 Latino adults were analyzed. A link was found between people with a genetic variant encoding the enzyme lactase, which the body uses to break down the sugar in milk.
It turned out that people with the lactose intolerance-causing variant of the LCT gene who also regularly consumed milk had a 30 percent reduced risk of developing type II diabetes, while no risk reduction was seen in people who regularly consumed milk but did not have the variant in the gene.
