Diabetes prevention

Daily yogurt consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes

New research reveals that a higher intake of yogurt reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. The probiotic bacteria in yogurt were found crucial in the preventive action. On the other hand, total dairy consumption showed no association at all with type 2 diabetes.

Researchers of the Harvard School of Public Health extracted data of three large prospective cohort studies, whereby a large group of participants frequently documented on their dairy intake and were followed up every two years. Cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular patients were excluded from the conducted research. Confounding factors, such as age, BMI, lifestyle and dietary risks were adjusted. Next to the strengths of the study, we need to clarify that a diet questionnaire may not be entirely reliable and the participants were health professionals, which implies homogenous characteristics.

One yogurt a day, keeps the doctor away

All three cohorts showed a consistent association between yogurt intake and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, more specifically for one yogurt serving of 28g a day. An extra meta-analysis of previous research found that consuming one serving of yogurt daily, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes with 18%. On the contrary, low and high fat dairy consumption was not associated with the condition. This discrepancy can be explained by the probiotic bacteria in yogurt. The researchers suggest that these microbes may improve fat profiles and antioxidant status, therefore the authors recommend randomized controlled trials to examine a causal effect.

Source : Wise J. BMJ 2014;349:g7081

 

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