A daily tablespoon of yoghurt reduces the risk of getting type 2 diabetes by nearly a fifth.
Scientists quizzed 194,519 people whose medical histories, dairy intake and lifestyles had already been studied by other experts.
They found 15,156 had the disease and the amount of dairy foods in general people ate did not cut the risk of developing it. But when they looked at eating specific products – such as milk and cheese – they spotted the link between yoghurt and a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Eating one 28g serving of yoghurt per day was associated with an 18 per cent lower risk. Previous research suggested calcium, magnesium, or specific fatty acids present in dairy products may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes while probiotic bacteria found in yoghurt improves fat profiles and antioxidant status in people with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers suggested this could have a risk-lowering effect in developing the condition.
Professor Frank Hu at the Harvard School of Public Health said: “We found that higher intake of yoghurt is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas other dairy foods and consumption of total dairy did not show this association.
“The consistent findings for yoghurt suggest that it can be incorporated into a healthy dietary pattern.”
The study published in open access journal BMC Medicine pooled the results of three prospective cohort studies that followed the medical history and lifestyle habits of 194, 519 nurses, dentists, pharmacists, vets, osteopathic physicians and podiatrists.
At the beginning of each cohort study, participants completed a questionnaire on lifestyle, diary intake and cases of chronic disease.
But when they looked at consumption of individual dairy products, such as skimmed milk, cheese, whole milk and yoghurt and made adjustments for chronic disease risk factors such as age and BMI as well as diet, it was found that high consumption of yogurt was associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The authors then conducted a meta-analysis, incorporating their results and other published studies, up to March 2013, that investigated the association between dairy products and type 2 diabetes.
Further trials are planned to confirm the findings and investigate whether or not yogurt is causal in the lowering of risk. Eating 1tbsp of yoghurt a day cuts the chance of getting Type 2 diabetes by 18%.
photo:pers.publicrelations.nl