Soy yogurt, especially with fruit in it, may help control both type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

Although people with diabetes are usually discouraged from eating sweet snacks, soy yogurt and some dairy yogurts rich in fruit seem to help regulate enzymes that affect blood sugar levels, the researchers report in the Journal of Food Biochemistry.

"What one eats should be part of an overall approach to therapy," said Kalidas Shetty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 15 million Americans and up to 150 million people globally, is characterized by an abnormal rise in blood sugar right after a meal. This effect, known as hyperglycemia, can damage blood vessels, the kidneys, heart, eyes and nerves.