As the saying goes, we are what we eat. Eating healthy foods can decrease our risk for diseases like diabetes. For instance, one study shows that higher consumption of low-fat yogurt can reduce the risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes by 28%.1 Now that is amazing.
Diabetologia published the work of Laura M. O’Connoranalyzing daily eating habits of 3,502 participants with an average age of 59. Each participant’s diet was assessed using a prospective 7-day food diary. Over 11 years, they found participants with the highest low-fat dairy intake (87% of which was low-fat yogurt), had a 28% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, in comparison with those who ate very little or no low-fat yogurt.
The authors also analyzed the effects of substituting low-fat yogurt for other snacks such as chips, snack cakes, and pudding. There was a 47% lower risk for diabetes when consuming yogurt, in place of these other snacks.
Next time, instead of grabbing that snack cake from the cabinet, choose a delicious low-fat yogurt to satisfy that craving. Adding raspberries, strawberries and blueberries into the mix can make it even yummier.
Source:
O’Conner L, Lentjes M, Luben R, et al. Dietary dairy product intake and incident type 2 diabetes:
a prospective study using dietary data from a 7-day food diary. Diabetologia, 2014; 57: 909-917.