Eat yogurt with probiotics

Yogurt is probably the most popular food item in the dairy sections of grocery stores across the country. People love the taste and consistency of yogurt. But did you know that this milk-derived sweet can help improve your immune system and your digestive process?

Yogurt is a natural medium for beneficial bacteria, for example bifido and lactobacillus bacteria. These two groups of bacteria are found naturally in the human body. They perform key tasks like protecting the digestive tract which stimulates the immune system to work more efficiently.

If you’re interested in trying probiotics and you’re just not allergic to dairy, try eating yogurt more often to help with your digestion. However, when shopping for any type of yogurt product, consider the label first.

You need yogurt with live bacteria if you want the probiotic advantage. If the yogurt continues to be subjected to ‘heat killing’, then all the bacteria in the yogurt are probably dead. This goes for any other healthy food that claims to have a probiotic benefit. Probiotic foods will need live bacteria before they can be considered truly probiotic.

Benefits of probiotics

Still not convinced that probiotics could help you? Here are some facts about probiotics in general:

1. In some cases, probiotics can help decrease the symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This is actually attributed to the fact that beneficial bacteria can influence not only the digestive system, but also the immune system.

2. Some studies have shown that eating yogurt when you have diarrhea can help shorten proper recovery time. This especially applies to children who require extra help when dealing with diarrhoea.

3. Probiotics can help relieve constipation in both adults and children.

4. A recent study shows that yogurt, kefir and most probiotic foods can stimulate defense mechanisms to the extent that the strengthened defense mechanisms can easily fight off common infections.

5. There is some evidence that probiotics can help even the elderly when they are recovering from common infections.

6. If you are susceptible to ulcers, you may want to start eating yogurt more often. Research has revealed that the good bacteria in probiotic foods can help counteract the harmful bacteria responsible for ulcers.

7. Probiotics are known to combat yeast-related problems in the body. Vaginal yeast infections are common in women, and everyone can suffer from candida albicans in the digestive tract.

8. More recently, a scientific study has identified a link between dairy products and blood pressure. It seems that women and men who consume a lot of yogurt and milk can lower their blood pressure to some extent.

9. Yogurt can also help people lose weight while maintaining a healthy digestive tract. This is because yogurt has a moderate fat content, which will help communicate to the body that it is full. When the body is full, it doesn’t crave a huge amount of calories at the next meal.