Yoghurt is a food product made from fermented milk. Usually, yoghurt is made from animal milk, but there are also those made from vegetable milk derived from beans. This food is rich in “good” bacteria that have many benefits for the health of the body, since they are, among others, able to facilitate digestion and increase immunity.

As quoted from the Daily Mail, it turns out that yoghurt may also help prevent inflammation in the body and reduce hypertension. In a study conducted by the University of Wisconsin Madison, it was also stated that yoghurt is better consumed before eating.

In their study, the researchers gathered 120 pre-menopausal women (half were obese), of which half of the participants were given 12 ounces of yoghurt every day for 9 weeks. Meanwhile, the other half were only given pudding without milk. The results, which was published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that participants with yoghurt intake showed better intestinal health and lower degree of inflammation. It is known that yoghurt can increase the integrity of the intestinal layers, so that endotoxin (gram negative bacteria are toxic) cannot enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation.

In the next phase of the research, the researchers gave the same treatment, except that the participants were given high-calorie foods. This experiment was carried out with the aim of giving stress to their metabolism. The results showed that participants who consumed yoghurt before meals had low endotoxin. And for obese participants, the results of the study showed that glucose levels after eating decreased faster in participants who consumed yoghurt.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pixabay

Source(s):

• Daily Mail - Eat yogurt as an appetizer before every meal: Lowers blood pressure, arthritis patients, and gut health boosts, study finds (2018). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5727305/Yogurt-appetizer-fights-inflammation.html, February 17, 2019.
• Medical News Today - Could eating yogurt reduce inflammation? (2018), https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321802.php, February 17, 2019.
• Bolling, B.W., Pei. R., Dimarco, D.M., et all (2017). Low-fat yogurt consumption reduces the biomarkers of chronic inflammation and inhibits of women with premature exposure: a randomized controlled trial. British Journal of Nutrition, 118 (12): 1043-1051, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114517003038