Yogurt has a variety of health benefits. It can help women lose weight and promote better digestion. Now, though, researchers have found that yogurt could also help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers examined the diets of 4,000 people and followed them over the course of 11 years. After assessing the health of these individuals, the scientists found that those with the highest yogurt consumption also had a 24 percent lower risk of developing diabetes compared with those who didn't eat yogurt.
"A good place to include yogurt in your diet to reap the benefits against onset of diabetes would be instead of a packet of crisps [potato chips]," said Nita Forouhi, one of the researchers, in an interview with Medscape. "We found that swapping crisps for yogurt offered protection against the onset of diabetes. This may form a practical dietary change suggestion for patients at risk of diabetes as well as among the general populations."
So how much yogurt should you be eating to feel these health benefits? The researchers found that 4.5 standard-size portions (125 g) per week of low-fat yogurt could help a person's health. By substituting yogurt for other foods and snacks, you could drastically improve your health over time. Yet researchers caution that eating yogurt isn't the only thing you can do to help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
"A primary risk factor in type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese," said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Lagone Medical Center, in an interview with WebMD. "Regular exercise, shifting to a more plant-based diet and reaching and maintaining a healthy weight will go a long way in helping to prevent type 2 diabetes."
Even so, eating yogurt and other low-fat fermented dairy products, such as cottage cheese, could help supplement other methods of reducing type 2 diabetes.
The findings are published in the journal Diabetologia.
