Eating yogurt daily won't do your health much good

A new study has claimed that regular consumption of yogurt does not benefit out health, unlike the contrary belief.

Led by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid, a Spanish study of more than 4,000 people analyzed the relationship between the regular intake of yogurt and health-related quality of life over a 3 and a half year period, and declared that there was no link with the improvement of the physical and mental parameters analyzed.

Lead author Esther Lopez-Garcia said that the regular consumption of yogurt was not linked to health-related quality of life.

The results also found no link for individuals with no diagnosed illnesses, who had never smoked and who followed a Mediterranean diet, or rather those without any risk factors which could obscure the relationship under review.

She added that in comparison with people that did not eat yogurt, those who ate this dairy product regularly did not display any significant improvement in their score on the physical component of quality of life, and although there was a slight improvement mentally, this was not statistically significant.

Currently, claims of the health properties of food items must be scientifically evaluated in accordance with the European Food Safety Authority (no.1924/2006).

The US Department for Agriculture also reviews the claims proposed by the food industry to allow or reject the use of these assertions for commercial purposes. This study provides new information to evaluate the claims from the dairy industry.

Up until now, several pieces of research have suggested that the consumption of yogurt could influence directly or indirectly on HRQL. For the experts, one of the reasons may be because it is rich in calcium, protecting the bones and which could help to combat osteomuscular illnesses, one of the conditions with greatest negative impact on quality of life.

Also, more specifically, its intake has been associated with lesser weight, lower blood pressure and a lower rate of cardiovascular diseases.

The study is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.