'Intake of fermented dairy products can reduce risk of diabetes'

Many people assume that they only have the mild touch of diabetes and that it can be entirely treated with lifestyle changes, says Dr V Mohan, chairman of Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.

- DR V MOHAN

Excerpts from conversation with Sinduja Jane:

● US FDA allows new claim that yogurt may reduce diabetes risk? Are there any studies available on this?

Recent studies have confirmed that yogurt can reduce the risk of diabetes. Our research at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, strongly supports the fact that dairy in general, and yogurt in particular, can be protective against diabetes. We found that the benefit was more with fermented dairy products like yogurt. With respect to the recent US FDA announcement, this was in response to a company which asked the FDA not to oppose the claim that yogurt can help to reduce type 2 diabetes risk and the FDA complied with their request. This is a significant development given the fact that many people, particularly vegan groups, claim that dairy is the cause of diabetes and all dairy products should be completely eliminated from one's diet.