FDA Allows Yogurt Labels to Claim the Snacks May Reduce Diabetes Risk — Even Though Many of Them Are Loaded with Sugar (Which CAUSES Disease)

In the United States, yogurt makers can now claim on their product labels that their snacks can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

The FDA said there is evidence — but not consensus — that eating two cups of yogurt per week is linked to decreased disease rates.

But campaigners warn the decision is based on flimsy evidence and would allow highly processed and sugary yoghurts to carry the health claim.

Excessive sugar consumption is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes, which affects approximately 36 million Americans.

Since 2002, the FDA has allowed qualified health claims – a claim that does not have a complete scientific basis but is allowed provided there are warnings – for foods.

The agency had faced lawsuits that challenged the standard requiring scientific consent based on allegations that it violated free speech guarantees.

Danone North America, the U.S. arm of the French company whose brands include Dannon yogurt, Activia and Horizon Organics, applied for a qualified health claim for its products in 2018.

He submitted information from studies that observed participants over time and found a link between yogurt consumption and lower markers of diabetes.

The FDA has acknowledged that there is “credible evidence” of the benefits of eating yogurt as a whole food, but not because of any particular nutrient it contains.

There are several possible reasons why yogurt might reduce the risk of diabetes, including the fact that it has a low glycemic index.

This means it causes fewer blood sugar spikes when you eat it – due to the food’s high protein-to-carbohydrate ratio.

Generally speaking, a diet rich in foods with a low glycemic index is linked to reduced glucose and insulin resistance, as well as a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

Some research has shown that yogurt may specifically contribute to this benefit.

Yogurt also contains healthy micronutrients like calcium and vitamin D.

An analysis of 13 different studies found a link between yogurt consumption and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes – “in the context of a healthy diet.”

But many of these studies were observational, meaning they weren’t intended to prove cause and effect.

Critics said the label change was not based on gold-standard randomized controlled trials that could have proven whether yogurt reduced the risk of diabetes.

No single food can reduce the risk of an overall diet-related disease, said the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Even the research that supports the label is clear on this fact: the link between yogurt and a decreased risk of diabetes is only as part of a healthy diet.

He added that the label change could increase the risk of diabetes by encouraging consumption of yogurt, including types with added sugars, and mix-ins such as cookies and pretzels.

Even seemingly healthy fruit yogurts can contain much higher levels of sugar than plain yogurts.

While a six-ounce cup of plain yogurt can contain 13 grams of sugar, a cup of the same size but added fruit could contain 26 to 29 grams, more than twice as much.

Some of this sugar comes from the fruit, but most of it is added sugar. It would take an entire cup of sliced ​​strawberries to reach 10 grams of the fruit’s natural sugar, according to the American Institute of Cancer Research.

Doctors and scientists agree that a diet high in added sugars is one of the main risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes.

It is unclear whether the new labeling will be allowed on yogurts containing fruit or other added sugars, or whether it will only apply to plain yogurts.

Regardless, food policy expert Marion Nestlé said qualified health claims based on limited evidence are “ridiculous on their face.”

“Translation: If you want to believe that, go ahead, but it’s not based on evidence,” she said.

Six of the 32 studies Danone included in its FDA application were at least partially funded by Danone or a related company, Reuters reported.

The company is “still evaluating how and where to communicate” this claim, Amanda Blechman, director of health and scientific affairs for Danone North America, told the outlet.