Cardiovascular health

Yogurt among dietary-priorities for cardiometabolic health

YINI-mozaf 1620x800

Whereas diet-related cardiometabolic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, produce large global health burdens, a comprehensive review from Mozaffarian summarizes recent science and highlights the key role of certain foods, including yogurt.

Food-based approach

Science advances support the importance of specific foods and overall diet patterns, rather than isolated nutrient targets, such as low-fat or low-saturated fat diets. Mozaffarian concludes on the following dietary priorities: more minimally processed foods, such as fruits, nuts, non-starchy vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seafood, yogurt and vegetable oils; and fewer red meats, processed (sodium-preserved) meats and foods rich in refined grains, starch, added sugars, salt and trans fat.

Consistency in yogurt beneficial effect

The whole dairy category does not provide the same concordance in relation to cardiometabolic health effects. In longitudinal studies, evaluating habitual intakes of dairy foods, relationships with cardiometabolic diseases, such as CVD do not consistently differ by fat content, but appear more specific to food type, eg. yogurt, cheese, milk, butter. Current science supports consuming more yogurt and possibly cheese, with the choice between low-fat versus whole-fat being personal preference.

The possible role of dairy fat

Dairy fat itself may promote cardiometabolic health. The author reports that in cohorts, using objective blood biomarkers, greater dairy fat consumption is associated with a lower incidence of CHD and diabetes mellitus, and with mixed findings for stroke. It remains unclear, whether such findings relate to health benefits of specific dairy fatty acids, other specific dairy-fat factors or other determinants.

Source: Mozaffarian, D., Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity. A Comprehensive Review, Circulation 2016, Vol 133, pg. 187-225

Pin It on Pinterest