Danone has highlighted this Wednesday the role of yogurt in maintaining metabolic health and in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, emphasizing that, among fermented foods, yogurt has the greatest scientific backing in relation to said metabolic health.
During the 43rd International Symposium on Diabetes and Nutrition, held in Tarragona, the company has stressed that "the available evidence suggests that people who consume it regularly tend to have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes."
In this forum, it was recalled that various scientific studies have observed that a higher intake of yogurt is linked to a possible reduction in risk, depending on the level of consumption and the characteristics of the population studied.
Within the framework of the symposium, the professor of nutrition and director of the Human Nutrition Unit at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Jordi Salas, pointed out that several observational studies carried out over years in Europe and the United States have found that those who regularly consume yogurt have a lower risk of developing pathologies such as type 2 diabetes in the long term.
"Specifically, regular consumption of yogurt - at least three servings per week - is associated with a significant reduction in this risk," he indicated.
As explained, this relationship is explained by various biological mechanisms. Yogurt is a fermented food, with high nutritional density, rich in nutrients and with a low glycemic index. The fermentation process is essential, as it transforms milk, improves its nutritional profile, and favors the absorption of certain naturally present nutrients. Furthermore, during fermentation, bioactive compounds are generated that have been linked to different metabolic health markers, Danone emphasized in a press release.
The company has accumulated more than a century of promoting scientific knowledge about fermentation and developing innovations to offer alternatives that adapt to the nutritional needs of the population.
Danone has a unique collection of ferments comprising more than 4,000 strains, of which 1,900 are exclusive, allowing it to market a portfolio of fermented foods with probiotics whose benefits are scientifically backed.
Currently, 90% of Danone's catalog consists of healthy options intended for daily consumption. Likewise, the company has led the reduction of sugars in the category, and half of its references are natural products with no added sugars.
Since 2019, they have managed to cut 1,230 tons of added sugars in their children's ranges, aligning their entire portfolio for children with the nutritional criteria of the World Health Organization, as the company itself highlights.
"Thanks to this commitment, Danone contributes to the care of metabolic health and the reduction of risk factors such as overweight or obesity through food at all stages of life," they have emphasized.
"Science is the only way to continue advancing and the starting point of everything we do at Danone. Our commitment to developing scientific evidence has allowed us to know firsthand the nutritional properties of yogurt, leading the knowledge about ferments and probiotics and their role in the body's health," explained Danone's R&D Director, Patricia Levy.
"At Danone, we believe in science that nourishes, and our future will continue to be guided by this approach. In this regard, we have recently signed an agreement with the CSIC to promote research and the generation of scientific evidence in the field of food and health," she concluded.