The effect of six-week consumption of full-fat yogurt made from the milk of sheep fed with iodine-enriched feed on indicators of thyroid function and selected biochemical and anthropometric parameters

The purpose of the study was to determine what changes will occur under the influence of six-week consumption of full-fat yogurt made from sheep's milk from ewes fed with iodine-enriched feed in relation to indicators of thyroid function – thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), but also to selected biochemical and anthropometric parameters. The intervention group consisted of nineteen women aged 54 ±7 years. It was a hyper-cholesterolemic group with a non-atherogenic lipid profile. Six-week consumption of sheep's yogurt contributed to the intake of an important element in human nutrition, but did not cause changes in the function of the thyroid gland, nor in the state of the hormones that produce or regulate its activity. TSH decreased from 2.6 ±1.0 mlU.l-1 to 2.4 ±1.0 mlU.l-1, fT4 increased from 15.2 ±1.5 pmol.l-1 to 15.3 ±1.7 pmol.l-1, but there were no statistically significant changes (P >0.05). The value of fT3 did not change at all (4.8 pmol.l-1). The intervention had no significant negative impact either on the lipid profile or other biochemical and anthropometric parameters. Our findings indicate that the consumption of full-fat sheep's yogurt not only contributes to the intake of iodine in the diet, but in terms of fat content does not cause health complications and deterioration of the lipid profile or other biochemical or anthropometric parameters