Tasty Diabetes Prevention?

From the results of a recent study out of Great Britain, I've been lowering my chances of getting Type 2 Diabetes for a long time.  And it might not be for the reasons you think.

I eat a yogurt pretty much every day.  It's good for digestion, good source of calcium and, most of all, I like the taste of it.  I enjoy ending my lunch with a nice yogurt.  According to the study, eating 55g of yogurt each day can lower your chances of getting Type 2 Diabetes by 12%. 

But even better, is the finding in the study that eating 55g of cheese each day (the equivalent of 2 slices) can do the same thing.  I LOVE cheese--and try to find any excuse to eat it.  Thank you British study!

Now, this seems to fly in the face of the usual suggestion of staying away from dairy in order to avoid such diseases.  So why the results of this study?

You can read more about it in a Daily Mail article, but in a nutshell, it might have something to do with the probiotic bacteria in these foods.  They have been found to lower cholesterol and create vitamins that help to prevent diabetes.  Cheese and yogurt are also both high in Vitamin D, calcium and magnesium--all of which may help to prevent diabetes as well.

Of course, the folks running the study say that the results shouldn't give folks free reign to eat a wedge of Asiago each day.  A balanced diet that is high in fruits and veggies and low in fat, is always a good idea.  It's just that you may not be feeling so guilty when having a taste of dairy.

Say Cheese!

I love cheese. 

Sharp or mild, goat or cow, soft or hard, blue or white or yellow or green, stinky or um...not stinky.

But I know that, being someone with slightly high cholesterol numbers, I shouldn't eat too much of it no matter how yummy it is. 

Alas!  A new survey has me thinking that Danish researchers are geniuses!  (And not because I like to eat Danish, too.)

According to a recent Danish study, cheese may not be so bad for cholesterol after all.  OK, they compared it to eating butter--but it shows that in moderation, cheese isn't as bad as you might think.

According to an article from the Chicago Tribune, here's how the tests were conducted:

The group surveyed about 50 people. Each person was put on a controlled diet and added a measured amount of cheese or butter daily.

Throughout, each participant was compared against his or herself, to follow changes in the body caused by the foods. Researchers gave each person cheese or butter, both made from cows milk, equal to 13 percent of their daily energy consumption from fat.

During six-week intervals, each person ate the set amount of cheese or butter, separated by a 14-day cleansing period which they returned to their normal diet. Then they switched, and for six weeks those who had eaten the cheese before, ate butter, while the butter eaters in the first phase ate cheese.

While eating cheese, the subjects showed no increase in bad or overall cholesterol, while when they were eating butter, their cholesterol increased by an average of 7%.

According to the article, it could be the calcium and/or protein in cheese that helped these results to occur.  Whatever the reason, I'm all for it. 

So does that mean that on a grilled cheese sandwich the cheese and butter cancel each other out and it's just like eating toast?