Health for today Yogurt

Herb Of The Week / Yogurt


It has been brought to my attention, by numerous readers, that
Herb-Of-The-Week should be in smaller, more condensed and smaller
bite-sized portions of information. Something that can be read along
with other morning email .. even at work.


So in response to this valid concern, considering how much email is
read on the run, I will provide very basic information on the possible
health benefits and nutritious properties of each food, herb and/or
nutritional supplement. Ideally I can provide enough information to
cause you to investigate/research more at a time that's more
convenient for you.


The foremost and most important thing is that yogurt must contain
active, living cultures composed of unique living microorganisms, to
be real yogurt. Usually this is plainly labeled on the container as
"live and active cultures". Some of the more common cultures are
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, but some
yogurts may also contain additional cultures.


Be aware that a label stating "made with active cultures" does not
mean the same as the LAC label. The LAC label means that the yogurt
contains at least 100 million cultures per gram of yogurt at the time
of manufacture and after pasteurization. Frozen yogurt with this seal
contains at least 10 million cultures per gram at the time of
manufacture. Some yogurt products may have live cultures but not carry
the LAC seal. Without the LAC seal, there is no way to confirm that
live and active cultures are present.


Besides being rich in calcium and the benefits of that, a quick
run-down of the health benefits of yogurt are astounding:


1. Yogurt is easier to digest than milk. The culturing process has
already broken down the milk sugar lactose into glucose and galactose,
two sugars that are easily absorbed by lactose-intolerant persons.
Many people who cannot tolerate milk can enjoy yogurt. And because the
live-active cultures in yogurt increase the absorption of calcium, an
8-ounce serving of yogurt gets more calcium into the body than the
same volume of milk can.


2. Yogurt contributes to good colon health. There's a medical truism
that states: "You're only as healthy as your colon." Yogurt contains
lactobacteria, intestines-friendly bacterial cultures that foster a
healthy colon, and even lower the risk of colon cancer. This friendly
bacteria present in yogurt (known as probiotics - bacteria that
benefit us) deactivates harmful substances (such as nitrates and
nitrites before they are converted to nitrosamines) before they can
become carcinogenic as well as reduce the conversion of bile into
carcinogenic bile acids. The more of these intestines-friendly
bacteria that are present in your colon, the lower the chance of colon
diseases.


3. Yogurt improves the bioavailability of other nutrients. Culturing
of yogurt increases the absorption of calcium and B-vitamins. The
lactic acid in the yogurt aids in the digestion of the milk calcium,
making it easier to absorb.


4. Yogurt can boost immunity. Researchers who studied 68 people who
ate two cups of live-culture yogurt daily for three months found that
these persons produced higher levels of immunity boosting interferon.
(Inteferon is used as a treatment for HCV and other chronic viral
infections) The bacterial cultures in yogurt have also been shown to
stimulate infection-fighting white cells in the bloodstream.


5. Yogurt aids healing after intestinal infections. Research shows
that children recover faster from diarrhea when eating yogurt. It's
good to eat yogurt while taking antibiotics. The yogurt will minimize
the effects of the antibiotic on the friendly bacteria in the
intestines. While killing bad bacteria the antibiotics will also kill
the friendly bacteria in your intestines. Some alternative health
practioners "prescribe" a daily dose of yogurt while a person is
taking antibiotics and for two weeks thereafter.


6. Yogurt can decrease yeast infections. Research has shown that
eating eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures
daily reduces the amount of yeast colonies in the vagina and decreases
the incidence of vaginal yeast infections. Research has concluded
that both TOPICAL and oral use of acidophilus can prevent yeast
infection caused by candida overgrowth. Topical means applied
directly .... as weird as that sounds.


7. Besides being a rich source of proteins, the culturing of the milk
proteins during fermentation makes these proteins easier to digest.
For this reason, the proteins in yogurt are often called "predigested."


8. Yogurt can lower cholesterol. There are a few studies that have
shown that yogurt can reduce the blood cholesterol. This may be
because the live cultures in yogurt can assimilate the cholesterol or
because yogurt binds bile acids, (which has also been shown to lower
cholesterol), or both.


9. Yogurt is a valuable health food for both infants and elderly
persons. For children, it is a balanced source of protein, fats,
carbohydrates, and minerals in a texture that kids love. For senior
citizens, who usually have more sensitive colons or whose intestines
have run out of lactase, yogurt is also a valuable food. Elderly
intestines showed declining levels of bifidus bacteria, which allow
the growth of toxin producing and, perhaps, cancer-causing bacteria.



Grocery stores have rows of alluring, sugary and fruity brands of
yogurt that sometimes have more sugar than is healthy. But the best
yogurt is plain, unflavored and unsweetened. You know why. The best
nutritional deal is plain yogurt, which has only two ingredients: live
cultures and milk (whole milk, low-fat, or skim). The longer the
ingredients list, the more calories you get and the less yogurt
nutrition. So mix your own plain yogurt with a little honey, nuts
and/or fruit. You can make fun flavored yogurts with your kids that
please their taste buds and give you control over the contents of the
yogurt.



Plain yogurt contains around one-half of the calories of the same
amount of fruit-added yogurt.
Plain yogurt contains almost twice the amount of proteins.
Plain yogurt contains fewer fillers.
Plain yogurt contains more calcium.
Plain yogurt contains no added sugar.


The National Yogurt Association has been urging the FDA not to allow
products that do not contain live and active cultures to be called
"yogurt."


OK,.... SO I TRIED TO MAKE THIS BRIEF AND CONDENSED BUT ... WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT **YOGURT** HERE... WHAT CAN I SAY? (SIGH)

Perhaps we can take a health tip about yogurt cultures from cultures
who consume a lot of yogurt, such as the Bulgarians who are noted for
their longer lifespan and remain in good health well into old age.


Until next time remember .... most illness (upwards of 80% according
to experts) can be attributed to FOUR important factors that can
weaken your immune system and your ability to fight off disease:


By good utilization of search engine technology, we can look up
information as in depth as we desire in our own free time. As we
mention all the time, with every post, that you can research anything
mentioned in this newsletter yourself. Some good search engines are
www.mamma.com or www.google.com. or www.dogpile.com or
www.askjeeves.com ...etc. By entering one or more keywords you can do
your own research.


1. Anxiety, depression, anger, guilt and other STRESS factors
2. Improper and/or inadequate NUTRITION habits
3. A sedentary lifestyle that does not include enough EXERCISE
4. Not enough rest and quality SLEEP time


The United States Surgeon General warned Americans in a landmark 1988
report on Nutrition and Health that "diet related diseases account for
68% of U.S. deaths"


Remember, we ALWAYS recommend that you ALWAYS consult a professional
herbalist, naturopathologist or physician. We are just passing along
what we hope to be useful information.


Until next time,
Quinnten, Editor