--- title: The Link Between Yogurt, Probiotics and Lower Diabetes Risk description: Eating a lot of yogurt was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, says a study published in the journal BMC Medicine canonical: https://time.com/3603687/yogurt-lower-diabetes/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-25T01:00:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:20:48.738Z article:section: Health og:title: The Link Between Yogurt and Lower Diabetes Risk og:description: Eating a lot of yogurt was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, says a study published in the journal BMC Medicine og:url: https://time.com/3603687/yogurt-lower-diabetes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Link Between Yogurt and Lower Diabetes Risk twitter:description: Eating a lot of yogurt was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, says a study published in the journal BMC Medicine twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Link Between Yogurt and Lower Diabetes Risk by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Nov 25, 2014 1:00 AM CUT by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Nov 25, 2014 1:00 AM CUT Eating a daily serving of yogurt is associated with an 18% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, says a [new study](http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/12/215 "undefined") published in the journal _BMC Medicine_. Some research has suggested that calcium, magnesium and fatty acids found dairy products may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, which develops when the body stops making insulin. So researchers from Harvard School of Public Health took a closer look at the possible relationship between yogurt consumption and diabetes, hypothesizing that yogurt’s probiotics and antioxidants may have a positive effect. Researchers at looked at data from three cohorts of people who had their health and lifestyles followed. At the start of the studies, the participants filled out a questionnaire about their diets and history of chronic diseases. Every two years, researchers followed up with participants and updated the data. **MORE**: [Yogurt May Lower Your Blood Pressure](http://time.com/3013741/yogurt-probiotic-blood-pressure/ "undefined") The researchers did not find that dairy consumption in general affected diabetes risk, but they did find that yogurt was specifically associated with a lower risk of developing the disease. With further calculations, the researchers concluded that consuming one serving of yogurt per day was associated with an 18% lower risk of type 2 diabetes. The researchers were not able to determine exactly what was providing the health benefit, and it’s likely that maintaining a healthy diet in general has a positive effect on type 2 diabetes risk, considering weight gain is one of the most prominent risk factors for the disease. More research is needed—but not before making yogurt a dietary staple for health. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3603687/yogurt-lower-diabetes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3603687/yogurt-lower-diabetes/"},"headline":"The Link Between Yogurt and Lower Diabetes Risk","datePublished":"2014-11-25T01:00:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:20:48.738Z","description":"New research highlights a positive trend for those who consume yogurt","url":"https://time.com/3603687/yogurt-lower-diabetes/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Dairy","yogurt","probiotics","diabetes","type 2 diabetes"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3603687/yogurt-lower-diabetes/","name":"The Link Between Yogurt and Lower Diabetes Risk"}}]}] ```