Yogurt may lower Type 2 diabetes risk: Study

A new study released Tuesday found that eating a serving of yogurt daily could help lower our risk of developing type 2 diabetes when incorporated into an otherwise healthy diet.

New research out in BMC Medicine suggests it's also linked to lower risk for type 2 diabetes, a disease that currently affects some 366 million people worldwide, and is expected to affect many millions more by the year 2030.

"We found that higher intake of yogurt is associated with a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes, whereas other dairy foods and consumption of total dairy did not show this association," said senior researcher of the study Frank Hu from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US. The findings also reveal that yogurt can be incorporated into a healthy dietary pattern.

Some research has suggested that calcium, magnesium and fatty acids found dairy products may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, which develops when the body stops making insulin.

The results of three prospective cohort studies were pooled by the researchers which followed the medical history and lifestyle habits of health professionals. A total of 289,900 participants were involved in the study. 15,156 cases of type 2 diabetes within the three cohorts were identified during the follow-up period.

The research revealed that eating one 28g serving of yogurt per day was associated with an 18 per cent lower risk.

Earlier, a few studies proposed that particular fatty acids, calcium and magnesium plays a vital role in the prevention of all types of diabetes.

However, the researchers from Harvard School of Public Health found no clear preventative effect from other dairy products.