Yogurt Makes Mice Slimmer and Sexier


Photo: Susan Erdman

Put down that Viagra and reach out for some yogurt instead. New studies by Eric Alm and Susan Erdman of Massachusetts Institute of Technology revealed that yogurt not only make mice slimmer, it makes them sexier as well.

“Maybe it has to do with the healthy bacteria that live in our guts,” said Alm, an evolutionary biologist, explaining how there are 10 times more bacteria in the body than human cells. “Maybe probiotics in the yogurt have something to do with the effects on weight.”

To test the theory, Alm and Erdman fed one group of mice a normal mouse diet and another group the same diet with a mouse-sized serving of vanilla yogurt.

“One of the first things we noticed was their fur coat,” said Erdman, assistant director of comparative medicine at MIT. “It was so thick and shiny; shockingly shiny.”

But shiny fur wasn’t the only thing that set the yogurt-eating mice apart from their siblings: They were also slimmer, and the males had “swagger.”

And what causes this newfound sexual confidence?

“She noticed their testicles were protruding out really far,” Erdman said.

Swaggerin', yogurt-eatin', slim mice with a sexy strut and huge testicles. Yogurt, what can't it do? Link 

BRB, going to the market to get me some yogurt!


@JJ Bang - Gee, I wonder if they took all of those things into consideration? They should have consulted you first. Oh wait a minute:

"To test the theory, Alm and Erdman fed one group of mice a normal mouse diet and another group the same diet with a mouse-sized serving of vanilla yogurt."

Both the control group and the yogurt group were on the SAME DIET. The yogurt was the only difference!
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was wondering if the yogurt was plain or vanilla flavored . . . .
seems it was vanilla flavored .
were the reults from the yogurt or the vanilla . . . .
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Mice don't naturally become fat, they only do so if put on a high fat diet. And the obese mouse has definitely not been fed on a sensible mouse diet.
Obese mice also can't groom themselves, hence the difference in coat quality between the two mice, not to mention that it clearly looks sicker than the other mouse.
Considering the fat content of yoghurt, it could mean that it is a more healthy option. Or it could also mean that mice don't really like the taste of it very much. Or it could have no effect, but the other diet given to the other mouse is so unhealthy that it looks like there is an effect.
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I'm trying to imagine how the researchers determined the level of swagger in mice.
Also, wouldn't this just be a demonstration that the staple lab mouse diet is unhealthy for the mice?
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It's as-of-yet unpublished. Link to an article with more detail: http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20120507/9791/mice-yogurt-testicles-swagger-sexual-health.htm
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I have been unable to track down the funding for this study, and whether it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. If anyone knows either answer, please leave a comment here. Tx.
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