Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of heart attacks, according to the NHS.
The study, from the University of Eastern Finland, examined around 2,000 men over the course of 20 years.
The participants’ dietary habits were assessed at the beginning of the study in 1984 to 1989, and were followed up for an average of 20 years.
During the follow-up, 472 men experienced an incident coronary heart disease event.
During the study, it was revealed men who eat “plenty” of fermented dairy products have a smaller risk of indecent coronary heart disease than men who eat less of the products.
On the other hand, a very high consumption of non-fermented dairy products was associated with an increased risk of incident coronary heart disease.
Earlier studies had shown fermented dairy products to have positive effects on blood lipid profiles and on the risk of heart disease than other dairy products.
Examples of fermented dairy products include cheese, yoghurt, quark, kefir and sour milk.
The study participants were divided into groups on the basis of how much they ate different dairy products.
The researchers compared the groups with the highest and lowest consumption, while also taking various lifestyle and nutrition factors into consideration.
According to the study, on the basis of consumption of fermented dairy products with less then 3.5 per cent fat, the risk of incident coronary heart disease was 26 per cent lower in the highest consumption group compared to the lowest consumption group.
Sour milk was the most commonly used low-fat fermented dairy product.
The consumption of high-fat fermented dairy products, such as cheese, was not associated with the risk of incident coronary heart disease.
However, the researchers found a very high consumption on non-fermented dairy products was associated with an increased risk of incident coronary heart disease.
Milk was the most commonly used product in this category, and a very high consumption was defined as an average daily milk intake of 0.9 litres.
Lower consumption levels were not associated with the risk.
“The new study provides further evidence on the health benefits that fermented dairy products may have over non-fermented ones,” said the University of Eastern Finland.
“All the mechanisms are not understood yet, but they may be linked to compounds forming during the fermentation process.”
According to the NHS, the risk of coronary heart disease is increased in people who eat a high-fat diet, are overweight, and have high cholesterol.
This is because bad cholesterol and fatty deposits can block the arteries, obstructing blood flow to the heart.
Having high blood pressure or a family history of coronary heart disease can also increase the risk.