Scientists have revealed that Yoghurt has an ability to make people slimmer and attractive. In an experiment, Yoghurt not only made mice slimmer; it also made them sexier.
Studies in humans suggest consumption of yoghurt may keep away age-related weight gain.
But MassaÂchusetts Institute of Technology researchers Eric Alm and Susan Erdman wanted to identify reasons behind it.
"Maybe it has to do with the healthy bacteria that live in our guts," ABC News quoted Alm, an evolutionary biologist, explaining how there are 10 times more bacteria in the body than human cells, has been quoted saying.
"Maybe probiotics in the yoghurt have something to do with the effects on weight."
In order to test the theory, Alm and Erdman fed one group of mice a common mouse diet and the other group is administered the same diet with a mouse-sized serving of vanilla yoghurt.
"One of the first things we noticed was their fur coat," Erdman, assistant director of comparative medicine at MIT has been quoted as saying.
"It was so thick and shiny; shockingly shiny."
But shiny fur was not the single aspect that made the yoghurt consuming mice different from their siblings: These mice also became slimmer, and the males had "swagger."
"We knew there was something different in the males, but we weren't sure what it was at first," Erdman added further.
"You know when someone's at the top of their game, how they carry themselves differently? Well, imagine that in a mouse."
A lab technician will soon be testing what was giving these males their sexy strut.
"She noticed their testicles were protruding out really far," Erdman has been quoted as saying.
It was found that yoghurt eating mice had testicles 5 percent bigger than those of their non-yoghurt eating counterparts, and 15 percent bigger than those of mice on a diet designed to mimic "junk food" in humans. And in this case, bigger was better.
"Almost everything about the fertility of those males is enhanced," Erdman said while reflecting on how yoghurt-eating males mated faster and produced more offspring.
"There were legitimate physiological differences in males fed probiotics, not just the extra sexiness."
In addition, female mice that consumed yoghurt were even shinier than the males, and tended to be better moms to their larger litters.
"We think it's the probiotics in the yogurt," Alm added.
"We think those organisms are somehow directly interacting with the mice to produce these effects."
Although the study is still in progress, the findings could have effect on human fertility, weight control and hair health.
"When I saw those fur coats, I thought about adding more yogurt to my diet," Erdman has been quoted as saying.
--with inputs from ANI
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