By Deborah Mitchell for EmaxHealth.com

A yogurt drink named doogh that has roots in ancient Persia may have found a very modern use. Researchers from the birthplace of the yogurt beverage found that doogh fortified with vitamin D may help people with Type 2 diabetes by reducing inflammatory markers.

In what is now Iran and Afghanistan, ancient people developed a drink made from curdled milk and water that they flavored with mint. Doogh, which is known by other names outside its birthplace, is still enjoyed today in those countries, as well as in Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, and the Balkans. Often doogh is carbonated or fizzy and may also contain pennyroyal, a member of the mint family.