Help With Blood Pressure
The eating plan called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, a diet designed to help lower blood pressure, recommends two to three servings of fat-free or lowfat dairy foods such as Yoplait yogurt daily. Yoplait yogurt contains nutrients, namely calcium and potassium, that as part of a healthy diet can help lower blood pressure. Like calcium, the amount of potassium in Yoplait yogurt varies, depending on the type, ranging from 180 milligrams in the Yoplait Whips! to 290 milligrams in the Thick and Creamy. Aim for 4,700 milligrams of potassium a day for improved blood pressure.
Creative Ways To Eat Yogurt Every Day
Eating yogurt out of its container, although delicious, can get boring. Here are some ideas to help you spice up the way you consume it.
- Add toppings: Feller recommends adding fresh or dried fruit, nuts, or seeds of your choosing to make your yogurt interesting . Or, if you’re feeling fancy, you can try making an Instagram-worthy yogurt parfait with blueberry puree.
- Use it as a base: “Think of yogurt as a base for pretty much anything and everything,” Modell says. Some ideas to get your creative juices flowing include adding it as a base to smoothies and homemade ice creams for extra protein and thickness.
- Make it a go-to healthy swap: Yogurt makes a good swap for sour cream, mayo, and other ingredients, Modell says. Don’t be afraid to get creative. For example, don’t have ghee or butter? Spread some yogurt on your whole-wheat toast instead.
- Add it for a protein boost. Basically, you can add yogurt to anything that could use a protein boost to help keep you full until your next meal. Add it to waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, baked goods, dips, dressings, or chili. The possibilities are endless.
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Prevents Yeast And Vaginal Infections:
There is no doubt, yogurt is a safe and reliable food for vaginal yeast infection.And there is nothing to harm to the human body. Even it works very well because it contains Lactobacillus bacteria, this bacteria is very effected remedy for yeast infection. This helpful bacteria can help to kill the yeast cells. A study of 2012 says that yogurt is the best herbal remedy for yeast and vaginal infection.
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Are There Any Storage Instructions For Probiotics
Several probiotic strains are very fragile and need to be protected from heat, oxygen, light and humidity. The probiotics might start to break down or die if they are exposed to these elements. Because of this, you may need to refrigerate your probiotics or store it in a particular place. Refrigerating certain probiotic strains ensures that theyre still viable when you go to use them and will still provide the full benefit of the probiotic. Always read the labels on any probiotic product you purchase to make sure you store it correctly and use it within the expiration date.
Which Yogurt Is A Better Choice
Yogurt is an excellent source of nutrients including protein, calcium and B vitamins. What you choose to buy is a matter of personal preference.
If you like thick and creamy yogurt or are trying to increase your protein intake, choose a Greek yogurt that contains more protein. Check the label to be sure you are getting what you expect.
If you are trying to increase your calcium intake, choose yogurts that provide at least 15% of the Daily Value of calcium per serving.
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Benefit No : Yogurt With Active Cultures May Help The Gut
While more study is needed, there’s some evidence that yogurt with active cultures may help certain gastrointestinal conditions, including:
- Lactose intolerance
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- H. pylori infection
That’s what researchers from the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University concluded in a review article. The benefits are thought to be due to:
- Changes in the microflora of the gut
- The time food takes to go through the bowel.
- Enhancement of the body’s immune system .
In another recent study, the type of diarrhea that some people get after taking antibiotics was found to be reduced when the study participants drank a drink containing three particular probiotics .
What Is Kosher Gelatin In Yogurt
Kosher gelatin is derived from kosher slaughtered and processed bovine sources or from kosher species of fish. Gelatin derived from fish is permitted in yogurt or other dairy foods according to most opinions. The OU does certify as kosher the bovine gelatin derived from cattle slaughtered in kosher fashion.
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Which Yogurt Has The Best Probiotics
Weve covered this in passing already, but the best probiotic yogurt is without a doubt the type which has the active or live culture seal or wording on the packaging.
Anything less than this and youre not going to be getting much in the way of probiotic content, if any at all.
Youll find yogurts come in all different shapes, sizes, flavours and varieties, and this can make purchasing the right one for you quite difficult.
Many people wonder about whether Greek yogurt is a good source of probiotics, and the answer really varies according to the brand.
Greek yogurt is strained three times, as opposed to twice in the regular processing procedure.
This is what gives Greek yogurt that iconic thick and creamy feel, but you lose out on some of the whey in this process, which means it has a lower calcium amount than regular yogurt.
In terms of probiotics, this varies from brand to brand, and you should check on the packaging as to whether any live or active cultures are present or have been added, to ensure youre getting a good probiotic hit.
Overall, traditional yogurt is probably the best route, but lets check out some of the other options you might have before you.
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Want Probiotics But Dislike Yogurt Try These Foods
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men’s Health Watch
The top item on my grocery list is always yogurt: unsweetened, organic, made with almond milk. Im always afraid Ill run out since I use it all the time. I put two tablespoons in every smoothie, switch it out for mayo, and nothing beats a cool cup on a hot day as an afternoon snack.
Besides healthy doses of calcium and protein, yogurt is a prime source for probiotics, the “good” live bacteria and yeasts. Why are these helpful? Having a proper balance of bacteria in your gut improves digestion, blocks dangerous organisms that can cause infections, and boosts your immune system. It also helps your body absorb vital nutrients from food.
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Does Yogurt Contain Good Probiotics
Daily consumption of probiotic foods, such as certain yogurt and cultured dairy drinks containing probiotics, may be good for you in one of the following ways:
They may help support your digestive system by providing a regular source of “friendly” bacteria for the intestinal tract.1
They may help to maintain the balance of bacteria in the intestinal tract.2
2.
Who Should Not Take Probiotics
Although probiotics are generally safe to use, findings of a review from 2017 suggest that children and adults with severe illnesses or compromised immune systems should avoid using probiotics. Some people with these conditions have experienced bacterial or fungal infections as a result of probiotic use.
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Things To Watch Out For
Remember, frozen yogurt is a dessert, not a health food. Dont overdo it. Its easy to turn a little treat into a super-sized sundae.
Check serving sizes for guidance. And limit yourself when using self-serve machines. Choose a small dish, and avoid the temptation to fill up the whole cup. At the toppings bar, skip candy and sprinkles and choose unsweetened fruit and nuts, which will help fill you up.
Aim for the frozen yogurt with the fewest ingredients. Fewer ingredients means fewer additives.
Keep in mind that if a dessert is fat-free, it likely has more sugar, thickeners, or emulsifiers. You want to get the best of all worlds: the lowest sugar, fat, calories, and sodium. To avoid the extra sugar often added to frozen yogurt, freeze regular yogurt into pops.
To make your own frozen yogurt, check out these recipes:Ã
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It May Help Reduce The Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
Research has also shown that yogurt may play a role in preventing Type 2 diabetes. “Yogurt contains unique properties, such as its lactic acid bacteria content, which may affect gut microbiota and have a potential role in reducing glycemic variability,” Feller says, meaning that it may help reduce dramatic swings in a person’s blood sugar levels. Of course it’s important to be mindful that the yogurt you’re choosing isn’t loaded with added sugar otherwise, this benefit won’t ring too. An important reminder to do your label reading.
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What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Yogurt Every Day
A mainstay of many healthy diets, yogurt is a dairy product made through the bacterial fermentation of milk. It’s known for its beneficial impact on gut health and the many nutrients it contains, but yogurt can also contain a lot of sugar and fats, so it’s important to be aware of what’s actually in that cup when you eat yogurt every day.
Below we’ve listed seven things that could happen to your body if you eat yogurt every day, and for more healthy tips be sure to check out the 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.
How Do Probiotics Work
The main job of probiotics, or good bacteria, is to maintain a healthy balance in your body. Think of it as keeping your body in neutral. When you are sick, bad bacteria enters your body and increases in number. This knocks your body out of balance. Good bacteria works to fight off the bad bacteria and restore the balance within your body, making you feel better.
Good bacteria keeps you healthy by supporting your immune function and controlling inflammation. Certain types of good bacteria can also:
- Help your body digest food.
- Keep bad bacteria from getting out of control and making you sick.
- Create vitamins.
- Help support the cells that line your gut to prevent bad bacteria that you may have consumed from entering your blood.
- Breakdown and absorb medications.
This balancing act is naturally happening in your body all of the time. You dont actually need to take probiotic supplements to make it happen. Good bacteria is just a natural part of your body. Eating a well-balanced diet rich in fiber every day helps to keep the number of good bacteria at proper levels.
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What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Yogurt
Lets talk about the two ingredients youll need: milk and a yogurt starter culture.
- Milk: I recommend starting with organic, grass-fed whole cows or goats milk . You might be tempted to go for a lower milkfat, but really, you want the whole kit-and-kaboodle herethats what makes the end result creamy, thick, and packed full of good-for-your-gut probiotics. You can use raw milk, pasteurized, or ultra-pasteurizedall three will work just fine here.
- Yogurt starter culture: Youll need to inoculate your milk with some starter bacteria to get the yogurt-making process going, and there are two ways of going about this. You can either use premade plain yogurt with active cultures or you can use a freeze-dried yogurt starter culture.
Is Whole Milk Yogurt The Same As Greek Yogurt
Probiotics are essentially live organisms which when consumed in sufficient quantity offer health benefits that go beyond basic nutrition. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that we can get through the food we consume. Getting a variety of probiotics regularly can help to balance the microflora in your gut, which can have several advantages such as supporting digestion and promoting overall good health.
According to the WHO , probiotic means for life.
Today, there are so many foods containing probiotics that you can choose from options such as miso, kombucha, tempeh, or kefir. Yogurt is one of the best sources of probiotics because it is made with milk that is fermented with live bacteria. Not only is yogurt an excellent source of probiotics, but it is also high in vitamins, minerals, and protein.
However, not all types of probiotic yogurt are the same and the benefits you get from the yogurt depends on the types of probiotics it contains and the amount.
At present, there are so many brands of yogurt available on the market that it is quite difficult to determine which yogurt has the most probiotics. While buying yogurt, check the labels of the yogurt brands that specify live and active cultures to ensure that it is a good source of probiotics. It is also very important to check the amount of added sugar in the yogurt because sugar can be harmful to your guts health.
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Probiotics Can Help Prevent And Treat Diarrhea
Probiotics are widely known for their ability to prevent diarrhea or reduce its severity.
Diarrhea is a common side effect of taking antibiotics. It occurs because antibiotics can negatively affect the balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut (
15 ).
A review of 15 human studies found supplementing with Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains for 12 months can improve anxiety, depression, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and memory .
One study followed 70 chemical workers for 6 weeks. Those who consumed 100 grams of probiotic yogurt per day or took a daily probiotic capsule experienced benefits for general health, depression, anxiety and stress .
Benefits were also seen in a study of 40 patients with depression.
Taking probiotic supplements for 8 weeks decreased depression levels and reduced levels of C-reactive protein and hormones such as insulin, compared to people who did not take a probiotic .
Bottom Line:
Research shows taking probiotics may help improve symptoms of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, stress and memory, among others.
How Much Fermented Food Should You Take To Get Your Recommended Dosage Of Probiotics Per Day
Luckily for you, there is already some research out there that has quantified the number of probiotics found in foods that we eat daily.
Several studies have found that commercial yogurts do contain enough probiotics to confer potential health benefits.15, 16 These amounts, of course, differ between brands. Similar numbers of good bacteria could also be found in frozen yogurts.17
For example, the commercial brand Activia® contained between 107 and 108 CFU/ml.18This means that we would need to eat around 100 g of yogurt a day in order to meet the recommended dose of 109 1010 CFU/day. These numbers are pretty easy to achieve since usually there is already 125g in an individual yogurt container.
Microbial counts for sauerkraut generally range from 103 to 108 CFU/g, while Korean kimchi often contains 107 to 108 CFU/g of probiotics. Other fermented foods were found to contain somewhere between 106 and 109 CFU/g or mL.19
This means that in general, taking 100 g/mL would be sufficient to meet the recommended dose of probiotics.
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Yogurt Dosage And Risks Of Probiotics
In terms of proper yogurt dosage, Dairy Council of California, recommends that individuals aged nine and over, consume three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt each day. Due to the wealth of probiotics in yogurt, yogurt-eaters may be concerned about a “yogurt overdose.”
NIH points out that there are, in fact, side effects of probiotics, though they’re generally minor gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gas, that can be resolved without treatment. Though for individuals with a serious underlying condition or compromised immune function, probiotics are not advised. Furthermore, since probiotics are considered dietary supplements, not drugs, they’re not monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says Harvard Health Publishing.
A July 2017 paper in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, suggests a more stringent quality-control process for probiotics, as strains are often misidentified and misclassified, or products may be contaminated. Another paper in Plos One from December 2018 points out that not all probiotics will have the same effect, and you need to take certain factors into account, such as the probiotics source and strain type.
What Does It Mean When Yogurt Has Live And Active Cultures
The words live and active cultures refer to the living organismsin this case the bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus which convert pasteurized milk to yogurt during fermentation. This fermentation process is what creates yogurt, with its unique taste, texture and healthful attributes.
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Your Mood Might Improve
Between the pandemic, work stress, and any other thing that could bring someone down it’s easy to find yourself down in the dumps from time to time. There are the classic ways to improve your mood that you’ve been told dozens of timesworking out, sleeping more, volunteeringbut eating yogurt is a surprising mood-booster that might be the simplest of all to try.
“Eating yogurt for breakfast improves mood because yogurt maintains the microbiome which in turn sends good signals to the brain,” says nutritionist Hiba Batool from .
Looking for even more mood boosters? Check out our list of 13 Mood-Boosting Snacks to Make Your Day Better.
