A new study published in the most recent edition of 'The Archives of Internal Medicine' indicates that eating more low-fat dairy foods will decrease your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, the researchers were unable to determine why that may be the case.

The study examined 41,254 middle-age men for a total of 12 years. At the start of the study, none of the men had diabetes. After 12 years, more than 1,200 of them developed the disease.

Researchers discovered that for each serving of low-fat diary foods in the men's diet, there was approximately a nine percent reduction in their chances of contracting Type 2 diabetes.

Despite the correlation, no clear explanation was apparent as to why there was a reduction. Researchers believe it could have something to do with whey proteins or magnesium, both thought to improve the action of insulin in regulating blood sugar. However, these are also found in regular dairy products containing much more fat.

Yet, those who ate low-fat milk, cheeses and yogurt did see a decrease in their likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes while those who ate sour cream, cream cheese and whole milk showed no decrease at all.

Because of these findings, the researchers conducting the study warned that it was premature to advise people to change their diets. Additional studies will be conducted in the near future to further examine this link.