A healthy diet can be achieved through various food combinations, which are associated with different environmental impacts, like greenhouse gas emission (GHGE).

Current dietary guidelines are based on nutrient recommendations for health and do not account for the environmental aspects of the diet. The present danish study highlights the importance of examining these two aspects together when considering future dietary recommendations for a sustainable diet, as well as alternative food choices.

The authors created 8 dietary scenarios with different quantity of dairy products using data from the Danish National Dietary Survey (1995–2006). Nutrient composition and GHGE data for 71 highly consumed foods were used to estimate GHGE and nutritional status for each dietary scenario. An index was used to estimate nutrient density in relation to nutritional recommendation and climate impact for solid food items: the Nutrient Density of Climate Impact (NDCI) index. High index values were those with the highest nutrient density scores in relation to the GHGE.

Higher protein, higher GHGE

Results showed that the high-dairy scenario was 27% higher in protein, 13% higher in vitamin D; 55% higher in calcium; 48% higher in riboflavin and 18% higher in selenium than the non-dairy scenario. The estimated GHGE for the average-dairy, high-dairy, milk-products, cheese-products, and non-dairy diets ranged from 4,340 to 4,826 g CO2e per day with the highest GHGE in cheese-products and lowest GHGE in milk-products For soy drink, the estimated values were 3,620 g CO2e per day.

For the vegetarian and vegan diets, the estimated GHGE were 3,063 and 2,414 g CO2e per day, respectively. The average dairy diet resulted in 48% (2,217 g CO2e per day) higher GHGE compared to the vegan diet and 34% higher GHGE (1,568 g CO2e per day) compared to the vegetarian diet.

Consider the nutritional value

However, when combining nutritional value and climate impact using the NDCI index, the ranking of food items changes and values for animal-based and plant-based products are more similar. The index values for cod, pork, cheese, chicken, brown rice, pasta, and potatoes were quite similar (between 0.19 and 0.35) despite very different nutrient density values, reflecting different GHGE values. Cheese has the highest nutrient density value compared to all the other food items.

This study shows that reducing consumption of food items with high or relative high GHGE is not necessarily the best approach to decreasing diet-related GHGE. If a product is replaced by food with lower energy density, the quantity needed to compensate for the caloric loss is greater than the quantity removed. This may result in a higher diet-related GHGE despite the lower GHGE per kg of the substituted product.

When optimizing a diet with regard to sustainability, it is crucial to account for the nutritional value and not solely focus on impact per kg product.

Source: Bruun Werner L et al. Food Nutr Res 2014 ; 58: 20687.

Watch a related video from THE 2ND GLOBAL SUMMIT ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF YOGURT (Interview with Prof. Toon Van Hooijdonck, The Netherlands).

According to the results of a large international study published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, saturated fatty acids can be associated with both an increased and decreased risk of developing T2DM, depending on the type of fatty acids present in the blood.

In the EPIC-InterAct Study, a team of researchers led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge set out to examine the relationship between blood levels of nine different saturated fatty acids and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in later life.

The researchers looked at 12,403 people who developed type 2 diabetes from among a group of 340,234 adults across eight European countries. Using a sophisticated method of high-speed blood analysis, they determined the proportion of each of the nine fatty acids in blood samples from the study participants and related this to later incidence of type 2 diabetes.

They found that saturated fatty acids with an even number of carbon atoms in their chain (14, 16 and 18 carbon atoms) were associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, while saturated fatty acids with an odd number (15 and 17) were associated with a lower risk. Therefore, individual saturated fatty acids are not all the same.

Odd-chain saturated fatty acids are well-established markers of eating dairy fats, which is consistent with several recent studies, including a study from the same team, that has indicated a protective effect against type 2 diabetes from eating yogurt and other dairy products. In contrast, the situation for even-chain saturated fatty acids is more complex.

As well as being present in fatty diets, these blood fatty acids can also be made within the body through a process which is stimulated by the intake of carbohydrates and alcohol.

Adapted from a press release by the University of Cambridge.

The MyNewGut project is a multidisciplinary research consortium designed to make findings in basic human microbiome science useful for promoting healthier lifestyles to the public.

The consortium is led by Dr Yolanda Sanz of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The project brings together 30 partners from 15 countries including experts in microbiology, nutrition, physiology, immunology, brain research, computational modelling and ‘omics’ technologies, such as metagenomics and metabolomics, from EU and non-EU countries.

The MyNewGut Project, which receives funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme, will research in particular how the microbiota of the human gut (microbiome) and its genome influence obesity, behavioural and lifestyle-related disorders and vice versa. It also aims to identify specific dietary strategies to improve the long-term health of the population.

See more at: http://www.mynewgut.eu/home

This cross-sectional study included a cohort of 1745 pregnant Japanese women. Dietary intake during the preceding month was assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire. Scores of 16 or higher on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale denoted depressive symptoms. Various adjustments were made for different confounding factors (age, pregnancy, number of children, history of depression, dietary intake of fish, vitamin D and saturated fatty acids etc.).

Higher intake levels of yogurt and calcium were independently related to a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms during pregnancy, with adjusted odds ratios between extreme quartiles of 0.69 and 0.59 respectively. No relationships were observed between the intake of all dairy products, milk, or cheese and depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Source: Miyake Y, Tanaka K, Okubo H, Sasaki S, Arakawa M. Intake of dairy products and calcium and prevalence of depressive symptoms during pregnancy in Japan: a cross-sectional study. BJOG 2014; DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.12972.

A team of searchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi, P.R. China, analysed PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus for studies of dairy product intake and T2DM risk published up to the end of October 2012. They included 14 articles on cohort studies that reported RR estimates and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of T2DM with intake of dairy products.

Results showed an inverse linear association between the total consumption of dairy products, low-fat dairy products, cheese and yogurt and the risk of T2DM. The pooled RRs were 0.94 and 0.88 for 200 g/day total and low-fat dairy consumption respectively. The pooled RRs were 0.80 and 0.91 for 30 g/d cheese and 50 g/d yogurt consumption respectively.

These results suggest that increasing the intake of dairy products such as low-fat dairy, cheese and yogurt may reduce the risk of T2DM. However, further cohort studies are warranted to investigate the specific types of dairy products in the association, any gender-specific recommendations, and biomarkers of dairy intake.

Source: Gao D, Ning N, Wang C, Wang Y, Li Q, et al. (2013) Dairy Products Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE 8(9): e73965. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0073965

In this study, data was analyzed from 5,124 children aged 2-18 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the USA between 2003 and 2006. The frequency of yogurt consumption over 12 months was determined using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality was assessed by the Healthy Eating Index 2005 (HEI-2005) using one 24-HR dietary recall, and metabolic profiles were obtained from the NHANES laboratory data.

Frequent consumers (33.1% of children) consumed yogurt at least once per week. Adjusting for covariates, they had better diet quality than infrequent consumers, as indicated by a higher HEI-2005 total score. Frequent yogurt consumption was also associated with a lower fasting insulin level, a lower homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and a higher quantitative insulin sensitivity check index.

Source: Zhu Y1, Wang H, Hollis JH, Jacques PF. The associations between yogurt consumption, diet quality, and metabolic profiles in children in the USA. Eur J Nutr. 2014 Jul 18. [e-pub ahead of print]

Prof Toon Van Hooijdonk (Wageningen University, the Netherlands) recalled the challenges faced by exponential worldwide population growth with the availability of food supplies. In this respect, dietary proteins will play a decisive role in the coming decades in meeting needs in the face of limited resources and the production of greenhouse gases. In the case of dairy products, the FAO is expecting an explosion in demand, with an increase from 700 billion to 1000 billion kg between now and 2050.

This demand will force the entire dairy sector to increase milk production by dairy cows by improving the animals’ ability (which has already risen by about 25%) to convert poor quality proteins (i.e. vegetable proteins) into high quality proteins, whilst taking care to minimise their ecological footprint.

Certain probiotics, in particular specific strains of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, may also interact with the mood and/or behavior of an individual, especially stress and anxiety, as Dr John Bienenstock (McMaster University, Canada) emphasised.

These effects can be explained by the bidirectional communication that is established between the brain and the intestines during digestion.

Rising obesity rates are a major concern across the globe especially in North America, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2011. Childhood obesity is becoming a growing epidemic, and it is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century.

Research is showing that there is a link between yogurt consumption and waist circumference in adolescents. A recent study, presented by Luis Moreno, PhD (Spain), found that the influence of dairy foods in heart health seems to start when we’re young. Detailing the HELENA study’s results, from 9 European countries (Greece, Germany, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Austria, and Spain), corresponding to 10 European cities, Dr. Moreno showed that girls who had more milk and yogurt had lower risks of CVD.

In both boys and girls, milk and yogurt consumption was also linked with being slimmer, as shown by measurements of their waist circumference and sum of skinfolds. In addition, the Framingham Children’s Study suggests that sufficient intake of milk, fruit, and vegetables during childhood can reduce body fat during adolescence.

There is growing evidence that indicates that yogurt is not only linked with reduced weight gain, but it is also connected with a lower risk of some of our most common life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. The obesity issue is largely preventable, and should be a priority as obese children are more likely to stay obese into adulthood.

This scientific report presents you the best moments of this half day of #YINI2014: sessions, hot topics & posters.

Click here to view it. You will also find in this blog post the abstract booklet, which includes biographies for conference speakers and session chairs. Wrap-up to conclude on the key role of Yogurt for the future (Frans Kok, The Netherlands)

Uniting a world-class multidisciplinary group of experts, the YINI conference was an opportunity for guest speakers to share their expertise about yogurt on the latest innovations and research in the fields of obesity, body composition, appetite control, bone health, gut microbiota, nutrient density, metabolic diseases and sustainability.

The conference addressed particularly the role yogurt can play in tackling the rising global obesity epidemic and the increase in type 2 diabetes by empowering consumers to make decisions that can improve their health and quality of life.

The sessions was co-chairing by Sharon Donovan, from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who is past president of ASN, and Raanan Shamir, from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine Tel Aviv University, who is also President of the Danone Institute International. The sessions welcomed the following keynote speakers:

• Prof Mauro Fisberg (Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brasil) : who covered the history of yoghurt through the centuries, emphasising its close links to the evolution of civilisations, and described current patterns of consumption.
• Prof Luis Moreno (University of Zaragoza, Spain) : who reminded of the critical need for dairy products in childhood and adolescence, particularly for cardiovascular health later in life.
• Prof Angelo Tremblay (Laval University, Canada) : who showed the properties of yogurt promoting a facilitation of appetite control and reduction of energy intake.
• Prof Robert Wolfe (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA) : who stressed the importance of a protein-rich diet for senior citizens, not just to maintain muscle mass and strength, but also for cardiovascular and bone health.
• Prof René Rizzoli (University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland) : who highlighted the the recent recommendation from the ESCEO task force about important role of protein and vitamine D intakes and regular physical activity on muscle mass and strength and bone health.
• Prof Nita Forouhi (University of Cambridge School of Medicine, UK) : who disclosed the promising discoveries relating to the effect of low-fat yogurt on the development of type-2 diabetes.
• Prof Olivier Goulet (Necker Hospital – Enfants Malades, Paris, France) and Prof John Bienenstock (McMaster University, Canada) : who discussed the importance of the advances made in recent years in the analysis of the composition and understanding of the function of intestinal microbiota and its connexions with various systems, like the adipose tissue or the nervous system.
• Prof Toon Van Hooijdonk (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) : who explained how cows convert human-inedible feed into nutrient rich milk and showed why dairy foods such as yogurt should be an important food group to assure nutrient security for the future.

To find out what is driving the science of yogurt in the future, download the scientific report and associated materials below.

As part of the symposium, YINI’s Team have put this infographic with all you need to know about yogurt.