Whether for breakfast or as a snack, yogurt is a candidate to become a delicious and, above all, very healthy food, useful for combating inflammation and protecting muscles and muscle strength. This emerges from a very recent article published in the journal Nutrients by a team of Japanese scientists (Sumi et al, Nutrients, 2023).
Yogurt and muscles, what science says
Scientists have researched and compared previous studies in order to understand the properties of yogurt for muscle well-being. What has emerged is that yogurt is an important source of proteins that are easily absorbed by the body thanks to the fermentation process to which the milk is subjected to obtain the final product. Not only that, compared to milk, yogurt has shown a more effective action when it comes to stimulating the synthesis of muscle proteins and thus counteracting the loss of muscle mass, which can happen, for example, in the elderly. It has been observed, in fact, that the intake of Greek yogurt for 3 months and the simultaneous carrying out of physical activity allows, in the elderly, to increase muscle mass and strength more significantly than in those who only carry out physical activity. Not only that, yogurt also helps in diets to lose weight in cases of overweight and obesity. In fact, studies have observed that the intake of low-fat yogurt allows you to preserve muscle mass even in the presence of weight loss. Finally, yogurt is not only a source of easily assimilable proteins. This product, in fact, helps to relieve intestinal inflammation. The connection between the gut and the brain is well known, as is the connection between the gut and the liver and between the gut and the lungs. Well, there is also a connection between the gut and muscles. Studies have observed that alterations in the gut microbiota and inflammation increase the risk of sarcopenia. Through its anti-inflammatory action, yogurt improves the health of the gut and thus also that of the muscles.
Conclusions
Today's article shows that yogurt can find a place in a healthy and varied diet and even in the case of a diet to lose weight in the case of obesity. Yogurt is a valuable source of protein, nourishes muscles and counteracts the loss of muscle mass and strength, which can be observed as age advances. And then yogurt also brings other benefits. For example, it helps regulate intestinal transit and the action of the immune system, helps prevent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Yogurt is a source of vitamins and mineral salts, especially calcium, and contains short-chain fatty acids with anti-inflammatory action.
