Daily glass makes one top of the class

The dairy industry got a welcome boost this week from worldwide coverage of British research findings.

Scientists at Gloucester Royal Hospital said there is a “plausible biological mechanism” to explain why the countries which have some of the highest rates of milk drinking also produce many Nobel Prize winners.

The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious award available for literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace, and economics.

The scientists’ findings, published in the Practical Neurology journal, demonstrated that Sweden, (where the 340kg of milk and milk products consumed per person, per year, is one of the world’s highest levels), has the most Nobel laureates per 10 million of population, while China (25kg) has the fewest.

Sweden has 33 Nobel laureates per 10 million; Switzerland with 32, consumes 300kg of dairy products.

The Gloucester Royal Hospital experts said the proven link between vitamin D-rich milk and improved cognitive behaviour may be the explanation.

Similar 2012 research results linked chocolate consumption with Nobel success.

This time around, the dairy industry has been boosted by worldwide headlines such as “Drink more milk — you could win a Nobel prize” and “Milk drinkers win Nobel Prizes, researchers claim”.