Yogurt May Lower Risk of Diabetes

Prof. Frank B Hu Department of Nutrition Department of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public HealthMedicalresearch.com with:
Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD

Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
Harvard School of Public Health
Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115

Medical Research: What is the background for this study?

Dr. Hu: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects approximately 26 million people in the United States and 366 million people worldwide, and thus primary prevention of T2D has become a public health imperative. The relation between consumption of different types of dairy and risk of type 2 diabetes remains uncertain. 

Medical Research: What are the main findings?

Dr. Hu: We found that higher yogurt intake is associated with lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but the consumption of other types of dairy was not associated with diabetes risk.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Hu: Our study provides convincing evidence that higher consumption of yogurt is beneficial for reducing risk of diabetes, but randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm this benefit for diabetes prevention. Our study also indicates that other types of dairy such as milk and cheese are not related to diabetes risk.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Hu: We also hope to conduct randomized clinical trials to look at the effects of yogurt on adiposity and biomarkers of insulin resistance.

Citation:
Dairy consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: 3 cohorts of US adults and an updated meta-analysis
Mu Chen1, Qi Sun, Edward Giovannucci, Dariush Mozaffarian, JoAnn E Manson, Walter C Willett and Frank B Hu

BMC Medicine 2014, 12:215  doi:10.1186/s12916-014-0215-1

 

 

Last Updated on November 27, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD