“The results confirmed that curd containing probiotic bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei, exhibited a significant delaying effect on the progression of diabetes induced by high fructose administration in rats,” says lead author Hariom Yadav with the Animal Biochemistry Division at the National Dairy Research Institute.

For the research, rats were divided into three groups. One group was fed a normal diet, the second was given a diet with fructose solution and the third was put on a diet with the fructose solution and supplemented with curd.

After eight weeks, researchers reported that fasting blood glucose levels had increased in both fructose-fed groups, but the rate was significantly less in the curd group.

“Yoghurt is a staple of Indian diet. Studies have earlier linked yoghurt with improved lipids but this is the first time a protective benefit has been established for diabetes,” says Dr Anoop Misra, department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, Fortis Group of Hospitals.

The study has yet to be duplicated in humans but the obvious question is how much yogurt should one consume?

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