Manufacturers of yogurt in the United States can now claim on their product labels their snacks may help reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
According to the FDA, there was some evidence—but not a consensus—that eating two cups of yogurt weekly is linked to lower rates of diabetes.
However, campaigners warn the ruling is based on flimsy evidence and would allow sugary and highly processed yogurts to carry the health claim.
Ingesting too much sugar is the leading cause of Type 2 Diabetes — which affects around 36 million Americans.
Since 2002, the FDA has allowed qualified health claims for food. A qualified claim lacks complete scientific support but is allowed as long as there are disclaimers.
The agency faced lawsuits that challenged the standard requiring scientific agreement based on claims that it violated guarantees of free speech.
The U.S. branch of the French firm Danone North America, whose brands include Horizon Organics, Dannon, and Activia, requested its products be given a qualified health claim in 2018.
It submitted study information that observed participants over time and found a link between lower markers of diabetes and eating yogurt.
The FDA agreed that there ‘is some credible evidence’ of the benefits of eating yogurt as a whole food, but not because it contains any specific nutrient.
There are numerous potential reasons yogurt could decrease the risk of diabetes, including the fact that it has a low glycemic index.
This means it causes a lower spike in blood sugar when you eat it — a result of yogurt’s high protein-to-carbohydrate ratio.
Generally, a diet heavy in low-glycemic foods is linked to reduced insulin and glucose resistance and reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Some research has discovered yogurt specifically can contribute to that benefit. Yogurt additionally contains healthy micronutrients like vitamin D and calcium.
The analysis of 13 studies linked yogurt consumption with a reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes ‘in the context of a healthy dietary pattern.’
However, many observational studies weren’t established to prove the effect and cause.
Critics said the label change isn’t based on gold-standard randomized controlled trials that could have proven whether that gurt reduces the risk for diabetes.
The advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest said no single food can reduce the risk of disease that is tied to an overall diet.
Even research supporting that label is clear about this: Yogurt’s link to a decreased risk of diabetes is only a small part of a healthy diet.
The group added that the label change could raise the risk of diabetes by encouraging the consumption of yogurt, including kinds that include mix-ins like cookies and pretzels along with added sugars.
Even healthy fruit yogurts can contain significantly increased sugar levels compared to plain yogurt.
While one six-ounce cup of plain yogurt can contain 13 grams of sugar, one of the same size with added fruit could contain 26 to 29 grams — over twice as much.
Food policy expert Marion Nestle said qualified health claims based on such limited evidence are ‘ridiculous on their face.’
Reuters reported that Danone’s application to the FDA included six of the 32 studies funded at least partially by Danone or a related company.
Amanda Blechman, Danone North America’s director of health and scientific affairs, told Reuters that the company is still ‘evaluating how and where to communicate’ the claim.
