The Alternative

Top Ten Reasons Yogurt May Benefit the Body

May Help Reduce Osteoporosis Risk
As an excellent source of calcium, yogurt, eaten regularly, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis, the thinning and loss of bone mass that affects 25 million Americans as they age. Yogurt is an excellent dairy food choice for women who limit their intake of milk and cheese, and has many advantages over supplements.
Lactose Intolerant? Yogurt May Help
Studies have shown that the live and active cultures present in yogurt allow it to be eaten by many of the more than one quarter of American adults who ordinarily experience lactose intolerance with other dairy products. Some of the symptoms of lactose intolerance include abdominal cramping, bloating and diarrhea.
Immune Boon
Ongoing studies have shown live and active culture yogurt may enhance the immune systems of certain individuals.
Versatile and Convenient
Keep yogurt stocked in your refrigerator to use as a substitute for mayonnaise and sour cream in tuna and other salads; top waffles or pancakes with fruit yogurt; make desserts more healthful by choosing frozen yogurt. Perfect for today's busy schedules, nothing is as convenient to carry with you on a hike or put in a lunch bag as yogurt. For the commuter, it's the perfect portable protein boost.
Combats Yeast Infections
Vaginal yeast infections affect nearly 12 million women each year. Research suggests that regularly eating yogurt containing L. acidophilus may decrease yeast growth and infection in certain individuals.
Colon Protection
Preliminary studies show increasing one's dietary intake of lowfat, calcium-rich dairy products such as yogurt may reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Calcium-Rich
It’s a fact: calcium is an essential nutrient, and yogurt is an excellent source of calcium. An average eight-ounce serving of live and active culture yogurt contains approximately 30 percent of the Daily Recommended Value for calcium.
Protein-Dense
An average eight-ounce serving of live and active culture yogurt contains approximately 20 percent of the Daily Value for protein. So protein-dense, yogurt is now considered a meat alternative by the United States Department of Agriculture in its school meals programs.
Taste Kids and Parents Love
Yogurt is one food that gets the "thumbs up" from both parents and kids. It's a calcium-rich food that will help kids grow and start them on the road to good bone health in later life.
Variety
With nearly 50 different flavors and a wide variety of textures or “styles,” there's a yogurt for everyone. Choose from fruit-blended or fruit on the bottom yogurts, yogurts with toppings and add-ins, or light versions of yogurt sweetened with aspartame. Try frozen yogurt or yogurts with cereal and novelty toppings for kids.

Source: National Yogurt Association

Doctors have long recognized yogurt as a healthy, wholesome food for the whole family. And now, a growing body of medical and scientific evidence points to yogurt's healthful properties.

Few foods help meet your nutritional needs at every stage of life better than live and active culture yogurt. Because it comes in so many flavors and varieties, yogurt can appeal to every member of the family.

What is Yogurt?

Yogurt is cream or milk that has been fermented with live enzymes and bacteria at a consistently warm temperature. The milk attains a pudding-like consistency, and the lactose is converted to lactic acid. This is what gives yogurt its slightly acidic flavor.

A nutrient-dense food, yogurt is a good source of protein - an average 8-ounce serving contains between 8 and 10 grams of protein, or 16 to 20 percent of the Daily Recommended Value (DRV). In fact, after culturing, the amount of protein in yogurt often exceeds that of fluid milk. Yogurt is also an excellent source of calcium. Some yogurts contain up to 35 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for calcium.

Beyond these important nutrition basics, scientific research shows that the live and active cultures found in yogurt may offer many more health attributes. The words "live and active cultures" refer to the living organisms - Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus - which convert pasteurized milk to yogurt during fermentation.

Increased yogurt consumption might help increase one’s resistance to immune-related diseases such as cancer and infection, particularly gastrointestinal infection.

Yogurt Varieties

Yogurt products come in a wide variety of flavors, forms and textures. The common terms associated with yogurt products available today include: lowfat and nonfat; Lite (light); Swiss or custard; frozen; contains active yogurt cultures; heat-treated; liquid or drinkable; made with active cultures; and sundae or fruit-on-the-bottom.

For your health, keep yogurt stocked in your refrigerator for a nutritious snack or meal, any time, every day.

The Benefits of Yogurt

Top Ten Reasons Yogurt May Benefit the Body

What is Yogurt?

Yogurt Varieties