TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Eating yogurt four or five times a week may lower the risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, a new study from a team of British scientists in the Diabetologia journal has found.
Researchers looked at the diets of 4,000 people and followed them for 11 years. They found that people with the highest yogurt consumption had a 24-percent lower risk of developing diabetes, compared to those who do not consume yogurt.
As quoted by Livescience, the risk reduction was seen in study participants who consumed an average of four and a half 4-ounce servings of low-fat yogurt per week.
"Part of the positive effect of eating yogurt seems to stem from the fact that people who eat yogurt also eat fewer unhealthy desserts and snacks," researchers said.
The study found an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship between eating yogurt and lowered risk of diabetes. Still, there is a reason to think yogurt may lower the risk. Yogurt is a fermented dairy product, and contains vitamin K, as well as probiotics, both of which have been suggested to protect against diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. This is because the body cannot get the glucose into the cells to be used for energy. Risk factors for developing diabetes include obesity and physical inactivity. Type 2 diabetes is a known contributor to 80 percent of the total diabetics.
About 26 million people in the United States (8.3 percent of the population) have diabetes. What about Indonesia? It turns out that 8.5 million people have diabetes in the nation. It has become number 7 out of 10 countries with the largest diabetics in the world.
LIVESCIENCE | MAHARDIKA SATRIA HADI
