2008 Woodie Awards
What makes yogurt so good for you?
Katrina Hartwood
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Opinion
In the past couple years more and more information has been available on the health benefits of yogurt. The terms probiotics and prebiotics have become more recognizable by consumers as having associated health benefits. If you are a little bit confused about the difference between them, you are not alone.
Probiotics are the actual bacteria that are in the yogurt that provide health benefits to both the digestive system and the body as a whole. Eating bacteria shouldn't be scary. Many species and strains of bacteria can either be beneficial to one's health or that can cause health problems, like a food borne illness, so you shouldn't worry about eating them. It is also not worth worrying about eating the bacteria found in foods, such as yogurt, because the digestive system already has more bacteria than cells in the entire body. One great benefit to having the probiotics in yogurt is that they make yogurt more tolerable to people with lactose intolerance. Probiotics can feed off the lactose that is not broken down, relieving the digestive discomfort that is normally caused by lactose.
Prebiotics are not actual bacteria and they also play a key roll in digestive health. Prebiotics, such as fiber, feed the bacteria that make their home in the digestive system. In turn, the well fed bacteria aid in the functioning of the digestive system.
There are many other benefits to adding yogurt to your diet. Because yogurt is a milk product, eating yogurt is a great way to get the protein your body needs. Yogurt is also a good source of calcium and vitamin D that build and maintain strong bones. There are a few things to look for when deciding what kind of yogurt to purchase. Yogurt that is low in fat will be better for you than regular yogurt because low-fat yogurt has fewer calories and fewer grams of fat. Choosing yogurt that does not have fruit on the bottom is also a great way to make sure that you are getting fewer calories and less sugar. Adding your own fresh fruit to yogurt is a great way to add flavor without adding extra sugar.
Probiotics are the actual bacteria that are in the yogurt that provide health benefits to both the digestive system and the body as a whole. Eating bacteria shouldn't be scary. Many species and strains of bacteria can either be beneficial to one's health or that can cause health problems, like a food borne illness, so you shouldn't worry about eating them. It is also not worth worrying about eating the bacteria found in foods, such as yogurt, because the digestive system already has more bacteria than cells in the entire body. One great benefit to having the probiotics in yogurt is that they make yogurt more tolerable to people with lactose intolerance. Probiotics can feed off the lactose that is not broken down, relieving the digestive discomfort that is normally caused by lactose.
Prebiotics are not actual bacteria and they also play a key roll in digestive health. Prebiotics, such as fiber, feed the bacteria that make their home in the digestive system. In turn, the well fed bacteria aid in the functioning of the digestive system.
There are many other benefits to adding yogurt to your diet. Because yogurt is a milk product, eating yogurt is a great way to get the protein your body needs. Yogurt is also a good source of calcium and vitamin D that build and maintain strong bones. There are a few things to look for when deciding what kind of yogurt to purchase. Yogurt that is low in fat will be better for you than regular yogurt because low-fat yogurt has fewer calories and fewer grams of fat. Choosing yogurt that does not have fruit on the bottom is also a great way to make sure that you are getting fewer calories and less sugar. Adding your own fresh fruit to yogurt is a great way to add flavor without adding extra sugar.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
animal parade shake
posted 7/29/08 @ 8:35 AM MST
Thank you! I also had these questions in my mind and I didn't know who to ask. Now everything is clear. Thank so much!
wholesalers for vitamins
posted 9/21/08 @ 10:50 PM MST
This cleared up a lot of my confusion. And that's a very good tip about fruit in yogurts, I'm usually going for the ones that have fruit in but want to lose weight so maybe it's a good idea to buy plain yogurt and add my own fruit, at least it won't have so much sugar in it and hopefully not too much extra fat. (Continued…)
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