Diet grocers may see new labels and yogurt in the milk aisle as a way to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
That’s because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said yogurt makers were wrong to make these claims, even though the agency made the claim based on limited evidence.
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Danone North America, the US division of the French firm that makes several popular yogurt brands, asked the FDA in 2018 for approval to approve what it called “advanced health claims.” The FDA issued the nod to Danone in March.
Eating at least 2 cups of yogurt per week can reduce the risk of developing the disease, which affects about 36 million Americans, according to the FDA, but there is no significant scientific consensus.
What is “HEALTH FIRST”?
They argue that they lack full scientific support, but it is allowed as long as the product label includes disclaimers so as not to mislead the public.
They have been approved for dietary supplements since 2000 and for food since 2002, when the FDA filed a lawsuit against the standard requiring scientific agreement for product claims.
At the time, lawyers successfully argued that such standards violated the freedom of speech guaranteed in the US Constitution.
Instead of fighting the proposed label changes in court, the FDA created a new, separate category of authorized health claims, which must demonstrate significant scientific consensus among qualified professionals that they reduce disease or health risks.
Examples of health claims include reports that eating certain types of cocoa can reduce heart disease and that cocoa beans can reduce the risk of recurrent urinary tract infections in women.
What do you know about slaves and type 2 diabetes?
The FDA agreed that there is “some strong evidence” of the benefits of eating yogurt as a whole food, but not for specific nutrients.
In other words, there is no direct evidence that yogurt can prevent diabetes-only weak evidence that eating yogurt can be associated with a reduction in certain biomarkers associated with an increased risk of the disease.
Critics question the validity of this claim, saying it lacks gold-standard randomized controlled trials that can prove that yogurt can reduce the risk of diabetes type 2.
No single diet can reduce the risk of diet-related diseases, says the Centers for Science in the Public Interest reporting group.
In fact, the label changes may increase the risk of diabetes by encouraging the consumption of types of yogurt that contain added sugars and mixes, such as cookies and mixes.
Food policy expert Marion Nestle says health claims based on limited evidence are “ridiculous”.
