Friday, January 27, 2012

Frozen Yogurt and Probiotics


Fro-yo girl here. I recently asked my readers how important the live and active cultures in yogurt were when choosing to consume frozen yogurt. The results are in and 2 out of 3 respondents felt that having live and active cultures in yogurt was moderately or extremely important. So, there’s a clear majority of fro-yo consumers out there who value the benefits of live and active yogurt cultures.

According to Mintel Research News, “70% of US yogurt users say they consume it for digestive health.”

Probiotics are live microorganisms, aka as friendly or good bacteria, like the bacteria found in fermented foods like yogurt. Probiotics may improve digestion and the immune system though there is still much research to be done on the beneficial health effects of consuming probiotics.

Probiotics are also available in capsule form (Whole Foods carries these capsules). I was surprised that a 1 month supply of Nature’s Way probiotic capsules is $40 - $50. I’d rather eat fro-yo than take capsules.

The National Yogurt Association (NYA) established the Live & Active Cultures seal for refrigerated and frozen yogurt. Refrigerated yogurt carrying the seal has at least 100 million live cultures per gram at the time of manufacture. For frozen yogurt, the seal indicates that the yogurt contains at least 10 million live cultures per gram at the time of manufacture. The program is voluntary, so the absence of the seal doesn’t indicate that the products don’t meet or exceed NYA’s benchmarks.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

2 comments:

Nury said...

Taking probiotics will have a vastly positive impact on your digestive health. They’re great for overcoming problems like diarrhea and constipation. Probiotics will also reduce gas and flatulence.

Margo said...

Lifestyle choices, diet and the accumulation of excess weight are considered the primary risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes.

How do probiotics affect the condition? Let’s take a look at some research on the topic.

A huge meta-analysis was carried out and numerous clinical experiments were examined. All of them focused on the relationship between probiotics and glucose levels. In some instances, volunteers were given foods rich in probiotics like yogurt.h