Sipping a daily dose of a vitamin D fortified Persian yogurt drink called doogh seems to dial down inflammation in people with type 2 diabetes. Inflammation, which is now being recognized as a root cause of many chronic diseases, can lead to heart disease and stroke and other complications of type 2 diabetes. Researchers in Iran previously conducted studies showing that drinking vitamin D fortified doogh daily lowered blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
In a double-blind randomized, controlled, 12 week trial to investigate doogh’s effect on inflammation, the research team divided 90 patients into three groups. One group received two 250mL bottles of plain doogh to drink daily, the second group received vitamin D fortified doogh, and the third was asked to drink doogh fortified with both vitamin D and calcium.
The investigators found that the calcium and vitamin D fortified doogh increased levels of the anti-inflammatory substance adiponectin and decreased levels of highly sensitive C-reactive protein, which is a key marker of inflammation.