Yogurt is often thought of as an important part of a healthy diet, but a new study suggests it might not have as many benefits as we thought.
The Spanish study looked at more than 4,000 people and determined there was no link between regular yogurt consumption and improved physical or mental health, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology reported.
"The regular consumption of yogurt was not linked to health-related quality of life," said lead author Esther López-García. "For future research more specific instruments must be used which may increase the probability of finding a potential benefit of this food."
The study was also not able to find a link for those who had no diagnosed illness, had never smoked and followed the Mediterranean diet.
"In comparison with people that did not eat yogurt, those who ate this dairy product regularly did not display any significant improvement in their score on the physical component of quality of life, and although there was a slight improvement mentally, this was not statistically significant," said López-García.
The main dietary guidelines in Spain and other countries support regular diet consumption as part of a healthy diet.
"This is because the majority of studies have focused on the effect as a whole, but it would be interesting to evaluate the independent association between each type of product and global health indicators," the researchers said.
Until now, some studies had suggested yogurt consumption could have a positive influence on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The researchers of the recent study found these conclusions were made because yogurt is rich in calcium, and can fight the development of osteomuscular illnesses that could significantly reduce HRQL.
The findings were published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
