Researchers found that women who drink milk daily during pregnancy have a lower risk to give birth to children who will develop multiple sclerosis later in life.  The risk is lower in children born to mothers who consume 3-4 glasses of milk per day compared to those born to mothers who only drink a few glasses a month.

The study involved 35,794 nurses whose mothers provided information about their diet during pregnancy. During the study 199 women developed multiple sclerosis. The risk of multiple sclerosis was 56% lower for women whose mothers consumed four glasses of milk per day than those whose mothers consumed less than three glasses of milk per month.

Growing evidence has suggested that vitamin D has an effect on multiple sclerosis. The body can synthesize vitamin D from exposure to sun light, cereals, fortified milk and salmon. Also vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium.

“We also found the risk of multiple sclerosis among daughters whose mothers were in the top 20% of vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 45%  lower than daughters whose mothers were in the bottom 20% for vitamin D intake during pregnancy.”  said Dr Fariba Mirzaei who led the study.