Yogurt Packs a Nutritional Punch
11:55 AM
Not all microbes are bad. Some — especially yogurt’s — are downright nutritious and have changed the diets of prominent scientists. Once ingested, yogurt’s beneficial bacteria, called probiotics, flood the digestive tract, increasing microflora – the microbes in the gut that help fight diseases and break down foods, such as carbohydrates.
“It’s like seeding a lawn with new grass seed,” says Elizabeth Applegate, director of sports nutrition at University of California, Davis. After reaching the intestines, probiotics help prevent disease. Lactobacillus strains bind to the linings of the small and large intestines, taking up space and preventing bad bacteria from attaching to the gut’s walls.
In a 2010 study, researchers studied 81 people with chronic liver disease, an illness that can lead to an imbalance of intestinal microflora. A group of 41 ate one cup of yogurt three times a day for two weeks, while a control group of 40 people did not eat any yogurt. At the end of the experiment, researchers found that the 41 participants had lower E. coli counts and a better intestinal flora balance compared to the control group, according to the journal Nursing Research.
Even better, probiotics can boost the immune system. A group of 33 women fed yogurt for four weeks improved their immune response, according to a 2006 study. In another experiment, mice fed yogurt and then infected with pneumonia recovered in seven days, compared to 21 days in the yogurt-free control group.
Apart from thwarting diseases, yogurt contains a host of nutrients: proteins, B vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Interestingly, most lactose-intolerant people can eat yogurt because the microbes in it digest lactose (the sugar found in milk).
“Yogurt in general is a nutrient-dense food,” Applegate says. “It’s better than milk. It has a more concentrated dairy source.” Another Harvard study found that a fatty acid found in dairy products, including yogurt, may substantially reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Though healthy, some yogurt has some unhealthy additions, such as sugar. “I always tell people to get plain yogurt and add sweetener themselves,” Applegate says. “Then they can see how much they’re adding.” She recommends using fruit and honey with low-fat yogurt. Applegate also warns that the bacteria cannot survive in extreme temperatures. Very few bacteria endure in frozen yogurt, and heating a dish above 120 degrees Fahrenheit is a bacteria death sentence.
Although advertised as a food that could extend and improve quality of life by scientists like Mechnikov and companies like Dannon (its 1977 commercial suggesting yogurt and longevity were correlated is credited with increasing sales), dieticians recommend eating it as a healthy snack, not as a miracle cure. The observation that some yogurt eaters lived longer is a correlation, not causation, says Maudene Nelson, director of community outreach at the Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition.
Still, yogurt makes for a delicious, healthy and immune-boosting snack. “A yogurt is a really good safe food to carry around with you for a few hours without being worried about it,” says Nelson. “It’s tasty, assessable, affordable, portable, drinkable, eatable and it scores high on nutrition scales.”
Excerpts taken from “Yogurt Delivers a Nutritional Punch to the Gut” by Laura Greggel with ScienceLine. Read the article in full: http://scienceline.org/2011/12/yogurt-delivers-a-nutritional-punch-to-the-gut/Best Teen Diets recommends well balanced eating that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and low-fat or fat-free dairy. We offer nutrition information for teens, parents and educators that emphasizes the importance of healthy eating in teens. Stay tuned for the relaunch of our website www.bestteendiets.org with updated content and resources coming in early 2012.
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