The American FDA, the body that deals with the approval of drugs and foods, has decided, after five years of evaluation of the studies presented, to allow a food such as yogurt (generic, without any additional indication on the quantity of sugars, fats, added fruit or cereals) to be able to add a “health claim” to the label, an indication by which a food or other product can boast healthy properties of some kind.
In particular, the FDA accepted – not without doubts on the part of doctors – that yogurt could add on the label that regular consumption would help prevent type 2 diabetes. A point in favor of those who had been asking for it for years now, Danone USA, presenting dozens of scientific studies, some of which (a clear minority, let’s point out) sponsored by the company itself.
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All the qualities of yogurt
In reality, the properties of yogurt and fermented milks of various types (you will discover the difference by reading these pages) have been talked about for decades, because yogurt is a precious food, rich in live bacteria, usually Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which are a godsend for our gastrointestinal system, but also a precious source of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, B2 and B12, proteins with high biological value and essential fatty acids.
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But then if all this is established, what need is there to put it on the label? The answer is that, obviously, consumer confidence increases now that there is also the FDA stamp. A label that is a bit second-class, as you will read later, because it refers to scientific evidence, but adds that this is still limited.
Also because the agency does not forget to point out that added sugars have been linked to various health problems, including diabetes. So it is always better not to overdo it: the “dose” considered preventive of diabetes is four jars a week.
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How a food can provide a “health claim”
If anything, the point is another: can any food, with a complex matrix, be thoroughly investigated beyond any reasonable doubt, to then provide a “health claim”? “The path with which the competent bodies, whether FDA in the United States or EFSA in Europe, decide to assign a “claim” is based on scientific evidence, a process that does not thrive on certainties, but on a continuous debate on the basis of progression of knowledge – he stated Michele Sculati, medical specialist in Food Science, who specifies that he is also a Danone consultant -. Specifically, the FDA has granted a “qualified health claim”: it means that it is supported by scientific evidence that is not yet conclusive, which is necessary to obtain an “authorized health claim”.
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The FDA, in fact, specifies that the information supporting the “claim”, based on a number of scientific studies, is still limited. The hypotheses that are made: the effect of yogurt on the intestinal microbiota, the presence of bio-active peptides produced thanks to the fermentation necessary to transform milk into yogurt, rather than the “matrix” effect of the food as a whole, and not broken down into the sum of its nutrients.
And it is interesting to note that we are talking about yoghurt and not milk, which is relatively similar from a nutritional profile point of view, for the reduction of the risk of type 2 diabetes: evidently, the typical fermentation process of yoghurt must take place, for it to can observe this advantage, and it is likely that in the future scientific research will try to delve deeper into the specific action of different bacteria”. Artificial and natural sweeteners: this is why caution is needed by Valentina Arcovio 22 December 2023
The diet is healthier with yogurt
But not only that: consuming yogurt could also be the driving force behind a healthier diet. “Yes, it’s true – he confirms Elisabetta Bernardi, nutritionist at the University of Bari – yogurt and other fermented milk products provide favorable health outcomes and the consumption of these products should be encouraged as part of national dietary guidelines. Furthermore, we realized that yogurt consumers tend to follow a better, quality diet.”
So the “beneficial” effect of yogurt could also be part of an overall healthier and better quality diet. Also because – Sculati recalls – if it is true that yogurt and fermented milks are heterogeneous products in which nutrients may be present whose consumption must be limited, such as added sugars or saturated fats, it is equally true that the advantage of consuming yogurt has been observed regardless of the type consumed: this is because the problems associated with added sugars or saturated fats are only observed when they are consumed in excess.
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Effects on blood pressure
It is no coincidence that better health performance is recorded among yogurt consumers, probably also linked to an overall better lifestyle.
“They generally have lower circulating lipid and glucose levels – continues Bernardi – as well as reduced systolic blood pressure and reduced insulin resistance, an increase in bone mineral density, if more than four yogurts are consumed per week, a better intestinal well-being and, furthermore, the integration of yogurt into the diet causes a significant reduction in cholesterol and therefore reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and even allergies.
Furthermore, being a good food matrix, it is also used commercially to provide prebiotics and cholesterol-lowering plant sterols and stanols and recently numerous attempts have been made to produce yoghurts enriched with various plant extracts, such as artichoke, strawberry tree or cherry fruit extracts. for their properties.”
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