Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health say they have found a link between eating yogurt and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes..

Their study, funded by the US National Institutes of Health, looked at the link between diabetes and dairy products..

“We found that increased consumption of yogurt was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, while other dairy products did not.. Our findings support the recommendation to include yogurt in a healthy diet to prevent this disease,” lead researcher Frank Hu writes in BMC Medicine..

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease in which blood glucose levels rise. About 90% of diabetics suffer from type 2 diabetes, in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or is resistant to the action of this hormone..

Approximately 26 million people already have type 2 diabetes in the United States, and more than 366 million worldwide. Scientists predict that by 2030 this figure will increase to 552 million.

People with diabetes are more prone to coronary artery disease, heart attacks and strokes than others..

The link between diabetes and dairy products.

In the course of their work, scientists considered the results of three large cohort studies. They analyzed the medical history and lifestyle of medical, pharmaceutical and veterinary workers, including dentists, nurses, pharmacists, podiatrists, general practitioners. In total, researchers included 194,519 participants.

All participants filled out questionnaires that included questions about lifestyle and health status.. This was done at baseline and every 2 years thereafter.. None of the participants had diabetes or cancer at the start of the study.. If participants did not report their dairy intake, they were automatically excluded from the analysis..

In all three samples, 15,156 cases of type 2 diabetes were identified over time.. Scientists have concluded that the risk of this disease is not associated with the use of dairy products (in general). But then the scientists decided to analyze each food group separately: cheeses, milk, kefir, yogurts..

After adding other factors (presence of chronic disease, age and body mass index) into the analysis, yogurt was the only one of these foods that could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.. A meta-analysis of data collected up to March 2013 showed that eating just 28 grams of yogurt a day resulted in an 18% reduction in the risk of diabetes..

Randomized clinical trials needed.

Early scientific work showed that the presence of calcium, magnesium and certain fatty acids in dairy products was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.. It is now believed that the bacteria found in yogurt protect against diabetes due to its antioxidant properties and the special composition of fats..

The authors acknowledge that despite the large sample size, their study has some limitations.. Although the cohort was large, it consisted of medical professionals of predominantly European origin.. This means that the results cannot be generalized to the general population..

Moreover, the study was observational, and it is impossible to prove a causal relationship in such studies..

“Our results suggest that yogurt should be included in a healthy diet plan.. But to confirm these data, it is necessary to conduct randomized clinical trials, ”the authors write in their article..

Researchers at the Canadian Center for the Study of the Human Microbiome and Probiotics recently found that using yogurt can combat the effects of heavy metal poisoning in children and pregnant women..

medbe. en.