Can Eating Yogurt Every Week Lower Your Type 2 Diabetes Risk?

With type 2 glucosuria rates soaring, caller FDA-approved messaging highlights yogurt arsenic a applicable dietary prime backed by observational grounds linking regular intake to reduced illness risk.

Perspective: Yogurt and Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Exploring nan Food and Drug Administration Qualified Health Claim and Potential Implications for Improving Public Health. Image Credit: Oksana Mizina / Shutterstock

A caller article in The Journal of Nutrition highlights reliable but constricted technological grounds linking yogurt depletion to a reduced consequence of type 2 glucosuria (T2D). This grounds was cardinal to nan Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2024 determination to let a qualified wellness declare connected yogurt.

They concluded that consuming yogurt regularly is associated pinch a little consequence of T2D, and that nan FDA’s wellness declare enables nationalist wellness messaging that tin promote yogurt depletion and frankincense summation nan intake of nutrients of nationalist wellness concern, specified arsenic calcium.

Background

T2D is simply a increasing nationalist wellness interest successful nan United States, pinch prevalence expanding by astir 20% betwixt 2012 and 2022, now affecting complete 12% of adults. The load is peculiarly precocious among non-Hispanic Black individuals and women.

Alarmingly, 1 successful 5 group pinch diabetes, astir 8.7 million, stay undiagnosed, while astir 98 cardinal Americans person prediabetes, importantly expanding their early illness risk. Prediabetes progresses to glucosuria astatine a complaint of 5–10% per year.

Social and biology factors specified arsenic poverty, nutrient insecurity, mediocre vicinity conditions, and constricted healthcare entree further thrust disparities successful T2D. The financial effect is besides immense, pinch one-quarter of U.S. healthcare spending linked to diabetes, costing complete $400 cardinal successful 2022.

Evidence shows that manner changes, including diet, weight management, and regular beingness activity, tin substantially reduce nan consequence of diabetes, arsenic demonstrated by nan Diabetes Prevention Program.

However, location is still a request for much practical, consumer-friendly dietary guidance. Food-based recommendations, peculiarly wrong ‘food is medicine’ initiatives, tin thief construe investigation into mundane choices.

Amid rising T2D rates, yogurt stands retired arsenic a nutrient linked pinch little T2D risk. The FDA’s 2024 support of a qualified wellness declare strengthens yogurt’s position successful nationalist wellness messaging focused connected promoting amended dietary patterns and reducing nan consequence of type 2 glucosuria (T2D).

Lifestyle interventions and nan domiciled of yogurt

Research shows that diet, beingness activity, and weight guidance importantly little T2D risk, arsenic seen successful nan Diabetes Prevention Program. However, consumer-friendly dietary guidance remains limited.

Within ‘food is medicine’ approaches, yogurt has emerged arsenic a promising option, supported by studies linking its depletion to little glucosuria risk. This grounds led to nan FDA’s 2024 support of a qualified wellness declare stating that “Eating yogurt regularly, astatine slightest 2 cups (three servings) per week, whitethorn trim consequence of T2D according to constricted technological evidence.” The declare applies to each yogurt products gathering FDA standards of identity, including drinkable yogurts.

To assistance specified claims, nan FDA reviews technological dossiers, conducts independent lit searches, and assesses only well-designed quality studies that meet circumstantial criteria. Evidence is rated high, moderate, aliases debased value based connected methodology, organization relevance, and statistical rigor.

Products utilizing nan declare must besides comply pinch nan FDA’s disqualifying nutrient thresholds for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

For yogurt, nan petition submitted successful 2018 included 117 references, later expanded to 140. After review, nan FDA deemed 28 observational studies sufficiently rigorous, covering much than 860,000 participants crossed aggregate countries.

Evidence supporting nan claim

Across 9 high-quality prospective cohort studies, researchers recovered that greater yogurt intake is many times associated pinch importantly little T2D risk, ranging from 11% to 40%. Major US cohorts, including nan Nurses’ Health Studies and nan Health Professionals Follow-up Study, person consistently shown that consuming astatine slightest 2 servings of yogurt each week correlates pinch a reduced consequence of diabetes.

Similar findings were observed successful Spain and Iran. Substituting yogurt for different dairy products, specified arsenic cheese, besides lowered consequence by astir 16%. While immoderate studies recovered variations by gender aliases yogurt type (low-fat vs. whole-fat), wide results supported nan protective domiciled of yogurt.

Several mechanisms whitethorn explicate these findings. Yogurt provides basal nutrients, including B vitamins, which are associated pinch a little consequence of diabetes. Fermentation processes heighten nutrient bioavailability, while probiotics and fermentation byproducts whitethorn amended gut wellness and trim inflammation, some of which are factors associated pinch enhanced insulin sensitivity.

Increasing yogurt depletion successful America

As T2D and different lifestyle-related diseases rise, food-based approaches are progressively important for prevention. Americans underconsume dairy, pinch yogurt intake averaging only 0.1 cup per day, and nationalist surveys show conscionable 6% of children and 5% of adults regularly eat yogurt. Only astir 12.5% of Americans meet recommended dairy intake levels overall.

Since yogurt already carries affirmative associations, specified arsenic health, taste, and probiotics, nationalist wellness communications tin leverage these perceptions to beforehand its domiciled successful reducing nan consequence of type 2 diabetes.

Nutritionally, yogurt provides calcium, B vitamins, potassium, and sometimes vitamin D, alongside macromolecule that supports satiety, muscle, and bony health. It is mostly debased successful sodium and not a awesome root of added sugars, though emphasizing plain aliases low/no-added-sugar options is cardinal to aligning pinch dietary guidelines.

Consumers are progressively unfastened to food-based wellness solutions, pinch galore seeking to amended their energy, negociate their weight, aliases forestall chronic diseases done a balanced diet. Taste remains nan superior motivator for yogurt consumption, highlighting opportunities to beforehand its versatility successful meals and snacks.

Health professionals, arsenic trusted sources, tin thief individuals incorporated yogurt into culturally due dietary patterns while reinforcing nan grounds linking it to a reduced consequence of diabetes.

The article besides notes that each supporting grounds came from observational studies, which cannot beryllium causality, and that nary randomized controlled tests straight demonstrated an effect of accepted yogurt connected glucosuria incidence. The FDA emphasized nan request for observant information earlier utilizing nan declare connected high-sugar yogurts, though nary circumstantial fat aliases sweetener thresholds were enforced.

It is besides important to statement that Danone North America funded nan paper’s symposium and article, and Danone, nan National Dairy Council, aliases nan International Food Information Council employment respective authors.