Yogurt May Cut Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Yogurt consumption has numerous benefits from helping get rid of irritable bowel syndrome to reducing high blood pressure levels. Now, a new research has revealed that a serving a day of yogurt can also lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

"The data we have gathered show that yogurt consumption can have significant benefit in reducing the risk of diabetes. It's not a huge effect, about an 18 percent reduction [in risk]," said senior study author Dr. Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and was published online in the journal BMC Medicine Nov. 25, Tech Times reports.

Hu and his team assessed results of three studies that had been conducted earlier  based on the lifestyle habits and medical history of the participants who had to complete a questionnaire about their diet and history of chronic diseases.

According to Forbes, those who took part in the study were 41,497 from the Health Professionals' Follow-up Study including male dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, osteopathic physicians and podiatrists; 67,138 from the Nurses' Health Study; and 85,884 from Nurses' Health Study II. Every two year, the data was updated based on the subjects' dietary habits. They were followed for up to 30 years so that the effect of their lifestyle on their health could be ascertained, Forbes reports.

 The data was updated every two years.  

The researchers found that while total dairy consumption did not affect type 2 diabetes risk, yogurt offered some benefits.

"Yogurt is not magic for curing or preventing diabetes. That's the bottom line and the message we want to convey to our consumers, that we have to pay attention to our diet pattern. There is no replacement for an overall healthy diet and maintaining [a healthy] body weight," Hu further said.