What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Yogurt Every Day

Yogurt is an all-around amazing food. It's delicious and versatile enough to eat on its own, in a bowl of granola, with your favorite fruit, or as the base of a recipe for a tasty sauce or salad dressing. Not only that, but yogurt is chock full of nutrients like protein, calcium, and probiotics, making it an extremely healthy item to add to your daily diet.

Because of its nutrient density, yogurt has always been associated with benefits like increased bone strength, improved gut health, and weight management. And according to Brooke Glazer, RDN, "Frequent consumption of yogurt has been shown to improve risk factors for cardiovascular disease, to lower diabetes risk, and to enhance immune function." But what about the other potential benefits of eating yogurt every day? And are there any negative side effects that can come with eating this creamy food?

If you're a yogurt lover or are just trying to incorporate it more consistently into your diet, read on to learn more about the potential benefits and side effects of eating yogurt every day.

Which type of yogurt is the healthiest?

Yogurt has a ton of health benefits—which we'll get to in a second—but it's important to find the best varieties that work for you and your health goals. A rule of thumb when choosing the healthiest yogurt is that, ideally, it will be higher in protein and lower in added sugars. The protein will help keep you full and improve muscle mass and weight management goals, and keeping your added sugar intake at bay will help decrease cravings and help prevent things like inflammation, heart complications, and weight gain.

When choosing a healthy yogurt, look for one of these:

Greek yogurt: This type of yogurt is generally higher in protein and lower in sugar, while still containing plenty of calcium and other important vitamins. For some ideas, check out our taste test of the healthiest brands.

Icelandic yogurt: Also called "skyr" in some cases, this yogurt is similar to Greek yogurt in that it is usually higher in protein and lower in sugar. These are some of the healthiest Icelandic yogurt brands on grocery shelves.

High-protein yogurt: Many brands, such as Oikos and Chobani, now carry their own lines of high-protein yogurt. Although yogurt naturally contains protein, these options have added protein and usually range from 15-25 grams of protein per serving. You can check out some of the best high-protein yogurt brands here.

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You'll get a protein boost.

Yogurt—especially Greek yogurt or Icelandic skyr—can be great for providing a protein boost with low levels of sugar and fat. For example, a 5.3-ounce container of Chobani Nonfat Greek Yogurt provides 14 grams of protein.

Because protein can help keep you full by reducing hunger hormones and minimizing cravings, a high-protein food like yogurt can be ideal as a morning meal you can top with fruit, granola, or nuts, or a mid-afternoon snack that can help keep you full until dinner.

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You may experience healthier blood pressure levels.

According to Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, "Research shows that yogurt is good for the heart and can help lower blood pressure."

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Hypertension found that higher consumption of dairy products—especially dairy yogurt—was linked to fewer cases of high blood pressure in adults. Specifically, eating more yogurt and following the "Dash Diet" more closely is a combination that was linked to a 30% lower risk of high blood pressure.

Another study found that a higher protein intake may also be associated with lower blood pressure levels, which is another way in which yogurt may help.

Your 'bad' cholesterol levels may decrease.

Along with the potential to help lower your blood pressure, yogurt can also help your heart by potentially helping to manage blood cholesterol levels, too. One study published in the Journal of Dairy Sciences looked into the effects of probiotic yogurt on participants with type 2 diabetes. What they found was that daily consumption of this yogurt was associated with lower LDL and total cholesterol.

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You'll increase your calcium intake.

Aside from protein, a helpful nutrient that yogurt can provide your body with is calcium, which is necessary for functions relating to your muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and bones. For instance, your bones contain a large portion of calcium, and when you're not consuming enough calcium through the foods you eat, your body actually begins to pull calcium from your bones. That is one reason dietary calcium is so important.

All milk products, including yogurt, are rich sources of calcium, so eating dairy yogurt (not all plant-based yogurts will have calcium) on a regular basis is an effective way of getting enough calcium in your body.

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Your digestive tract will get some extra help.

While the word "bacteria" may automatically trigger negative associations, there are "good" bacteria that are essential to making sure your digestive tract functions properly. One way you can increase levels of those good bacteria is by consuming probiotics, which are live microorganisms found in certain foods and supplements.

According to Lindsey Kane, MS, RD, LDN the Director of Nutrition at Sun Basket, maintaining a healthy gut microbiome—which is the collection of microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast, and viruses, that live in your large intestine—promotes bowel regularity, reduces bloating and general GI discomfort, and mitigates symptoms associated with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and IBS.

Unfortunately, not all yogurts are created equal in regard to probiotics. "Most yogurts undergo pasteurization after fermentation, and this pasteurization process destroys the fragile probiotics cultivated during fermentation, causing you to lose out on any of the benefits they once had to offer," says Kane. For this reason, Kane recommends choosing yogurt with a label that indicates it contains live and active cultures.

Ideally, Kane advises selecting one that contains multiple strains of bacteria. "Think of this as diversifying your roster for a sports team," she explains. "You need all sorts of players to build a versatile unit, each contributing different skills and talents to create a strong and resilient squad capable of handling any opponent that comes their way." Other than that, as long as you go for a product that doesn't contain heaps of added sugar, yogurt can definitely be a super healthy component of your daily diet.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Your immune system will get some support.

Speaking of probiotics, Glazer notes that having a healthy gut plays a key role in making sure you can fend off illness by regulating what gets to pass through the lining and enter your bloodstream.

"Kind of like a bouncer that decides who gets to come into a nightclub, our microbiome prevents dangerous bacteria from getting inside our body, thereby aiding immune function," says Glazer. "Since yogurt contains probiotics that create a healthier gut and the gut regulates immune function, eating yogurt can improve immunity."

Kane also points out that probiotics have been shown to prompt the synthesis of natural antibodies and immune cells like lymphocytes and Natural Killer T cells, which can attack invading viruses and toxins.

Your mental health may improve.

Remember those friendly flora mentioned earlier? According to Kane, probiotics don't just positively impact your physical health, but your mental health as well.

An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that the gut-brain connection definitely exists—and Kane notes that some research has found probiotics to improve anxiety, depression, stress, mood, and memory. While you likely won't notice these effects after just one serving of yogurt, if you're eating it on a regular basis, it could definitely make a difference over time.

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Your body will send signals of fullness to your brain.

If you opt for a yogurt that's high in protein, you'll likely feel satisfied after eating it because of protein's effect on satiety. This is especially true if the yogurt isn't nonfat.

"Yogurt is a nutritional powerhouse—it is full of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, the triple threat for long-lasting satiety and energy," says Kane. This is why yogurt is such an ideal snack option for keeping those hunger pangs at bay.

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You'll get a rush of many vital nutrients.

In addition to probiotics, yogurt is packed with many other nutrients that your body can benefit from. For example, Kane says you'll get a decent dose of phosphorus (for bone health), magnesium (which supports energy metabolism, sleep, and mood), and potassium (which regulates blood pressure, muscle mobility, and recovery). And that's not all.

"Probiotics actually produce vitamin K as well, which is used for healthy blood coagulation (clotting) to support healing," says Kane.

Yogurt can help with weight loss or weight management.

You've already learned by now that yogurt can be a nutritional powerhouse containing vitamins and nutrients your body needs on a daily basis. Along with providing helpful nutrients for bone health, metabolism, blood pressure, and muscle health, yogurt has also been found to help with weight management and in some cases, weight loss.

According to Nature Portfolio, regular yogurt consumption is associated with lower body fat, smaller waist circumference, lower body mass index, and less weight gain. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found similar results, concluding that yogurt is linked to an increase in weight loss and body fat loss, increased feelings of fullness, and fewer cravings—all of which is also associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes.

It can also help with healthier aging.

Yogurt also contains valuable nutrients for those worried about aging healthily. As we mentioned previously, yogurt contains things like calcium, protein, magnesium, phosphorous, and probiotics, all of which are nutrients that can directly help various age-related health concerns.

For instance, things like bone density and muscle mass change as we age, and it's important to consume plenty of calcium, protein, and phosphorous to ensure that our bone and muscle health is at its best with each passing year. According to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, yogurt's nutritional value, it can help improve the health of aging adults.

One downside to eating yogurt: You may consume a lot of added sugar

Yogurt can provide your body with a boost of protein and other helpful nutrients, but many store-bought varieties come packed with excess amounts of added sugar. Take Dannon Fruit On The Bottom, for instance. Their peach flavor may be low in fat, but it provides only five grams of protein and 15 grams of sugar.

Eating a little bit of added sugar on occasion is fairly harmless, but added sugar in excess can lead to a variety of health complications like heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, weight gain, and chronic inflammation.

If you're trying to limit your consumption of the sweet stuff, try plain yogurt and sweeten it up with fresh fruit or a small drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

"A dash of vanilla or a pinch of cinnamon also works wonders in creating a sense of sweetness without actually adding any sugar at all," Kane suggests.