FDA Approved that Yogurt Reduces the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Food makers can start advertising that daily consumption of yogurt helps reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes without objection from the Food and Drug Administration, as the agency announced on Friday.
The decision came as a response to a petition submitted in 2018 by Danone North America, the well-known food giant behind some of the biggest brands like Dannon, Activia, Wallaby Organic, and Silk.
The intention was to seek FDA acknowledgment that it wouldn’t object if Danone decided to market its benefits. On March 1, the FDA confirmed that it doesn’t oppose the claim, with a couple of mentions.
Any language used by consumers must specify that the evidence is still limited. Moreover, eating two cups of yogurt per week is the official threshold for reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Danone submitted its petition as part of the standard process known as “qualified health claims.” However, these claims don’t require the agency’s approval, and yet, the companies decided to submit their petitions to the FDA to further define the specific language that can be safely used.
Danone’s petition mentioned the nutrient profile of proteins, vitamins, and low sodium in yogurt. They also attached supporting studies, citing the link between regular yogurt consumption and a reduced risk of diabetes and any other related conditions.
According to a recent statement submitted by the FDA, “the petition also noted that the current evidence supports the health effects of yogurt as a food rather than related to any single nutrient or compound, thus being completely independent of fat or sugar content.”
Sugar and fat levels in yogurt can wildly differ. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also mentioned that even if some low-fat or unsweetened yogurts are quite low in calories and also a healthy source of protein, vitamin D, and calcium, flavored yogurts are still high in added sugars and should be fairly limited.
Research also showed there’s a link between high consumption of added sugars and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Some of the evidence that supports the health benefits of yogurt comes from a 2022 study. The study found that eating fermented dairy products, particularly yogurt, offers protection against the development of type 2 diabetes.
Yogurt is also part of the Mediterranean diet, along with other staples like fresh produce, whole grains, olive oil, and fish. A 2020 study discovered that adhering to a diet will significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
However according to a 2016 study, they didn’t find any link between dairy consumption and the disease. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian offered additional scientific feedback to Danone when the company drafted its petition, stating that the FDA’s decision is rather sensible, considering the growing evidence for the health benefits of fermented yogurt in particular.
Mozaffarian, director of the Food as Medicine Institute at Tufts University, explained and emphasized that companies can’t market food as preventing or curing a disease outright.
Then we’d have to consider it a drug. As he stated, “I think that’s truly a significant problem both for the food industry and the FDA, especially because now we’re learning that food actually is medicine.
Moreover, food can, in some cases, treat or even cure disease, and there’s no regulatory pathway to get there.”
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