Eating Yogurt Promotes Good Health
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One of the most important aspects of yogurt as a health benefit is the synergy of two health
-promoting substances it provides: prebiotics and probiotics.
Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the gut by
selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or more beneficial bacteria in the
colon, thus improving health. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are one of the many classes of
probiotics and they’re found in legumes, vegetables, and cereals as well as yogurt. These
non-absorbed fibres inhibit potentially pathogenic organisms as well as increase the
absorption of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc.
Probiotics are defined as live micro-organisms that, when taken in adequate amounts, can be
of benefit to our health. The evidence for the role of prebiotics and probiotics in promoting
health and fighting disease is increasing on a monthly basis and is now supported by many
double-blind, placebo-controlled human trials. What used to be folklore has become scientific
fact. This mounting body of very recent news simply confirms ancient wisdom.
Like all of the Superfoods, yogurt works synergistically to promote health and fight disease:
it provides a range of health benefits that include live active cultures, protein, calcium,
and B vitamins, which work together in such a way that the sum is greater than the parts.
Yogurt’s primary benefit-as a probiotic-is something that at first glance runs counter to the
trend in modern medicine. With the success of antibiotics beginning shortly after World War
II, doctors and the public have come to view micro-organisms as evil disease-promoters, which
must be relentlessly eradicated. In fact, however, the key to health is balance: the goal is
not to eradicate all micro-organisms, but rather to promote the health of the beneficial
ones. Yogurt plays a primary role in this promotion by encouraging the growth of “good”
bacteria and limiting the proliferation of ‘bad” ones.
Yogurt has multiple immune stimulating properties both inside and outside the
gastrointestinal (Gl) tract. An interesting study has shown that if you eat yogurt with live
active cultures, you decrease the amount of a common pathogenic bacterium - Staphylococcus
aureus - in the nasal passages. This is a clear sign that the yogurt is stimulating the
immune system.
Our gastrointestinal tracts are home to over five hundred species of bacteria-some helpful
and some harmful to our health. We rely on these beneficial microbial partners for a number
of important functions, including carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid synthesis, vitamin K
synthesis, and the processing of various nutrients. Yogurt is a source of beneficial
bacteria, and the positive results that are ascribed to introducing this bacteria to our
system are not relegated to the digestive tract.
While a host of beneficial health effects are linked to yogurt, those that have attracted the
most attention include its anti-cancer properties, its ability to lower cholesterol, and its
ability to inhibit unfriendly bacteria.
One of the great benefits of the probiotics in yogurt is its ability to strengthen the immune
system and thereby help the body prevent infection. In an era of antibiotic-resistant
pathogens and seemingly new infectious threats like SARS and West Nile virus, the value of
boosting one’s immune system becomes immeasurable.
There are three basic types of yogurt, depending on the milk used to make it: regular yogurt,
low-fat yogurt, and non-fat yogurt. Yogurt made from whole milk has at least 3.25 percent
milk fat. Low-fat yogurt is made from low-fat milk or part-skim milk and has between 0.5 and
2 percent milk fat. Non-fat yogurt is made from skim milk and contains less than 0.5 percent
milk fat.
Ultimately, it’s yogurt’s activity in the gastrointestinal tract that argues most
conclusively for its inclusion as a Superfood. The bottom line is that a healthy digestive
system is critical to good health. Our ability to absorb nutrients from our food depends on
our GI health. Even if we eat the most nutrient-dense foods
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in the world, if our digestive ability is
impaired, we won’t be able to benefit from those foods. As we age, our digestive ability is
often diminished. All the more reason to rely on yogurt as a food that will promote and help
preserve intestinal health.
The list of the health-promoting abilities of probiotics is quite long. Some benefits have
been proven conclusively while others require more study. Here is a summary of the conditions
where yogurt has efficacy:
Probiotics absorb mutagens that cause cancer, particularly colon cancer, though there’s also
evidence that they’re effective on breast cancer. They stimulate the immune system, partly by
promoting immunoglobulin production, and help lower the risk for cancer by decreasing
inflammation and inhibiting the growth of cancer-causing intestinal microflora.
Probiotics are helpful in alleviating atopic eczema and milk allergies. In relation to
eczema, it’s important to remember that probiotics work to promote healthy skin as well as a
healthy digestive tract. Indeed, probiotics affect all surfaces of the body that have
interaction with the external world, including nasal passages, the gastrointestinal tract,
the skin and so forth. There’s some evidence that babies who are exposed to probiotics (after
the age of three months) will have a better chance of avoiding some allergies later in life.
Some people cannot tolerate milk because they lack the enzyme to break down milk sugar
(lactose). In fact, only about a quarter of the world’s adults can digest milk. This
condition eliminates an important source calcium from the diet. Probiotics in yogurt digest
the lactose for you, thus helping to relieve this condition. Yogurt is also a calcium- and
vitamin-rich food that’s easily digestible by those who suffer from lactose intolerance and
is therefore an excellent addition to their diet.
Probiotics help regulate the body’s inflammatory response, which relieves the symptoms of
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The probiotics in yogurt have been accepted as a form of
therapy that can actually help maintain remission in people suffering from IBD. A 2003 review
of human studies on probiotics concluded that ‘the use of probiotics in IBD clearly will not
provide a magical cure, but it does offer hope as an adjunct form of therapy, specifically in
maintaining a state of remission.”
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Probiotics alter both the populations and the activities of
the microflora in our gastrointestinal systems, possibly relieving the symptoms of IBS,
though probiotics may prove to be more effective in prevention than in effecting a cure.
For hypertension, probiotics stimulate the production of drug like substances
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that act in the body like pharmacological
blood-pressure-lowering medicines.
Over thirty years ago, scientists were intrigued to find that the Masai tribesmen of Africa
had low serum levels of cholesterol as well as low levels of coronary heart disease, despite
a diet that was extremely high in meat. The distinguishing characteristic of their diets,
aside from high meat consumption, was an extremely high intake of fermented milk (or yogurt)
-up to 5 liters daily. Research has now confirmed that yogurt is beneficial to those trying
to reduce cholesterol. The probiotics in yogurt reduce the bile acids, which in turn decrease
the absorption of cholesterol from the gastrointestinal tract. This effect seems to be seen
most reliably in people who already have elevated cholesterol.
Yogurt even helps with ulcers. Probiotics help to eliminate the pathogen Helicobacter pylori,
a bacterium that is one of the main causes of ulcers and may also be a cause of gastric
cancer.
Yogurt has potential benefit in relieving what, in many countries around the world, is a
serious threat to the health of millions; Diarrhea. It fights diarrhea by stimulating the
immune system, crowding out negative microflora in the intestines and stimulating the growth
of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics in yogurt are also helpful in treating diarrhea associated
with antibiotic use, and some doctors are amazed that yogurt is not routinely recommended to
all patients who are being treated with antibiotics.
Most people are surprised to learn that in the United States, nine out of ten women and seven
out of ten men don’t meet their daily requirement for calcium. What’s even more troubling is
that nearly 90 percent of teenage girls and 70 percent of teenage boys don’t meet their daily
calcium requirement. For many, soda has replaced the old “milk at every meal” custom.
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This portends disastrous future health
consequences for large numbers of people. A single 1-cup serving of nonfat plain yogurt
supplies 414 milligrams of calcium-an amazing 40 percent of your daily calcium needs and at a
cost of only 100 calories. This compares favorably with nonfat milk, which has only 300
milligrams of calcium. The rich amount of potassium in yogurt combined with the calcium also
plays a role in normalizing your blood pressure.
Yogurt is also a better source of B vitamins (including foliate), phosphorus, and potassium
than milk. Of course, the calcium in yogurt is of great benefit to pre and postmenopausal
women and to men and women in their struggle against osteoporosis. A rich source of calcium
to begin with, the milk sugar in yogurt actually aids in calcium absorption. Moreover, dairy
foods are a source of IGF-l, a growth factor that promotes bone formation, which benefits
women over and above the bone-preserving contribution of calcium.
Yogurt is a great source of readily digestible protein. In fact, yogurt supplies double the
protein of milk because it’s usually thickened with non-fat milk solids, increasing its
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protein content. Some people, particularly
the elderly, just don’t consume enough protein or calcium. Studies have shown there’s a
positive association between protein intake and bone-mineral density of older women and men
when they’re supplemented with calcium. The lesson: optimum bone health and prevention of
osteoporosis depend not just on calcium supplementation, but on sufficient protein intake as
well. Yogurt, with its easily digestible protein and calcium, is the answer.