A Yogurt A Day Can Help Keep the Doctor Away

Yogurt is often a recommended as a health food by many practitioners of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. There are many types of yogurt Swiss-style /Stirred Yogurt, Balkan-style / Set-style Yogurt, Greek-style Yogurt, Low-fat, Fat –free, Kefir, Lassi to name but a few. It is also a source of best vitamins and supplements as yoghurt contains:

• Calcium
• Vitamin A, D, B2 and B12
• Potassium
• Magnesium

Yogurt is recommended as food and nutrition advice for several medical conditions as stated in the Apple A Day Rx evidenced- based medicine smartphone health app.

A complementary medicine research study from the US has been recently reported that women who regularly eat yoghurt are less likely to develop high blood pressure. The research study was presented at the recent American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific Sessions.

The Boston research team concluded that women eating five or more portions of yoghurt had a 20% lower risk of high blood pressure. However, this result was not seen in the cohort of men involved in the study; it was further reported that this cohort did not consume much yoghurt. The researchers also stated that regular consumption of milk and cheese was beneficial in reducing risk. The study’s lead author Justin Buendia commented, "No one food is a magic bullet, but adding yogurt to an otherwise healthy diet seems to help reduce the long-term risk of high blood pressure in women"

Future research could help determine the most effective type of yogurt as in some Traditional medicine therapies high–fat yoghurt is contraindicated for some conditions while indicated for others. This is indicative that lifestyle advice and nutritional guidelines should be tailored to the individual.

However, many newspapers who have reported this story have omitted an important factor that the women in this study were also DASH compliant. DASH represents the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension eating plan which includes eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans, other low-fat dairy and whole grains. So while yogurt may contribute to lowering hypertension, there are other contributing factors that need to considered in the final evaluation of this study.