People with high blood pressure could reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by adding this food to their diet.
Eating more yogurt is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease in people with hypertension, a study has found.
Two servings or more per week of yogurt could lower risks of heart disease or stroke by more than 20 percent.
High blood pressure affects more than 1 billion people globally and is a primary risk factor for heart disease.
Several clinical trials have been shown that consuming dairy can improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of hypertension, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.
But now experts say that yogurt alone can lower hypertension and cardiovascular disease risk.
They analysed the dietary intake of 55,000 women and 18,000 men with high blood pressure.
They found that participants who consumed 2 servings or more per week of yogurt had a 20 percent reduced chance of coronary heart disease.
One serving is equivalent to one cup of yogurt, which is about 8 fluid ounces or 220 millilitre.
Consumption of at least 2 servings per week of yogurt was linked to a 30 percent reduction of heart attack (myocardial infarction) in women and a 19 percent reduction in men.
Overall, regular consumption of yogurt in combination with a healthy diet, such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, leads to a larger decline in cardiovascular disease risk in those with high blood pressure.
Mr Justin Buendia, the study’s first author, said:
“We hypothesized that long-term yogurt intake might reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems since some previous small studies had shown beneficial effects of fermented dairy products.
Here, we had a very large cohort of hypertensive men and women, who were followed for up to 30 years.
Our results provide important new evidence that yogurt may benefit heart health alone or as a consistent part of a diet rich in fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Hypertension (Buendia et al., 2018).
