Yogurt Has No Health Benefits?

Newser|April 28, 2015 11:04 am EST

Those who eat lots of yogurt because they think it's a health food might have to reassess things: A study out of Spain suggests that yogurt provides virtually no health benefits, reports Medical News Today. Researchers followed more than 4,000 people for an average of three and a half years, and found no correlation between eating the stuff and better overall health. "The regular consumption of yogurt was not linked to health-related quality of life," says lead author Esther Lopez-Garcia of the Autonomous University of Madrid. But there's hope: "For future research, more specific instruments must be used which may increase the probability of finding a potential benefit of this food."

As UPI notes, the food has long gotten praise as a source of calcium and, more recently, for its beneficial micro-organisms, or probiotics, thought to improve the digestive system. Yahoo, meanwhile, talks to a nutritionist who maintains that "plain, unsweetened yogurt is one of the healthiest foods a person can eat," because it's "packed with calcium and potassium, two nutrients that most of us don't get enough of." Still, the findings published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics could force the industry to tamp down health claims, notes Nature World Report. "Advertisers may have to change their tune until more detailed research is conducted." (In other food news, Diet Pepsi is ditching aspartame.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Yogurt May Not Be Great for You After All