If you’re middle-aged or older and prediabetic, researchers from the University of Vermont have some good news for you: eating full-fat yogurt daily might lower your fasting glucose levels.
They are all set to present these findings at the esteemed American Physiology Summit, held annually by the American Physiological Society in Long Beach, California.
Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and the Role of Dairy
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are serious health problems in the United States, and they’re getting worse.
To fight these issues, many health organizations, like the American Heart Association, advise people to opt for low-fat or non-fat dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt.
This is often seen as part of a heart-healthy diet.
However, some recent studies are challenging this idea. They suggest that full-fat dairy might actually be good for managing blood glucose and fat metabolism.
This goes against the common idea that dietary fat leads to weight gain and chronic diseases.
About the Study
The study involved adult volunteers aged between 45 and 75 years. Most of them were prediabetic, and one had type 2 diabetes.
Prediabetes is a condition where your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. This is usually when fasting blood glucose levels are between 100 and 125 mg/dL.
The study was a crossover trial, which means each volunteer tried both diets. For three weeks, they ate three servings of plain, full-fat yogurt daily.
Then, for another three weeks, they had three servings of fat-free yogurt each day. The amount of yogurt eaten depended on each person’s nutritional needs.
On a 2,000-calorie diet, this would be around 510 grams (or 17 ounces) of yogurt. When on the full-fat diet, they consumed 17 grams of dairy fat daily.
Findings and Their Implications
The results were promising. After the three weeks of full-fat yogurt, the average fasting glucose levels of participants fell to 97.7 mg/dL, a level considered normal.
Victoria Taormina, a Ph.D. student and the lead author of the study, points out that these findings challenge the standard dietary guidelines.
Health authorities worldwide usually recommend low-fat or non-fat dairy. However, this research adds to the growing body of evidence supporting full-fat dairy products.
She hopes that this pilot study will encourage more research into the link between dairy fat intake and blood glucose control.
This could lead to a better understanding and perhaps change the way we think about dairy in our diets.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about the key cause of type 2 diabetes, and this eating habit could help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about unhealthy plant-based diets linked to metabolic syndrome, and results showing ultrasound may help reverse type 2 diabetes.
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