Eating Yogurt Promotes Good Health

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Probiotics absorb mutagens that cause cancer, particularly colon cancer, though there's also evidence that they're effective on breast cancer. They stimulate the immune system, partly by promoting immunoglobulin production, and help lower the risk for cancer by decreasing inflammation and inhibiting the growth of cancer-causing intestinal microflora.

Probiotics are helpful in alleviating atopic eczema and milk allergies. In relation to eczema, it's important to remember that probiotics work to promote healthy skin as well as a healthy digestive tract. Indeed, probiotics affect all surfaces of the body that have interaction with the external world, including nasal passages, the gastrointestinal tract, the skin and so forth. There's some evidence that babies who are exposed to probiotics (after the age of three months) will have a better chance of avoiding some allergies later in life.
Some people cannot tolerate milk because they lack the enzyme to break down milk sugar (lactose). In fact, only about a quarter of the world's adults can digest milk. This condition eliminates an important source calcium from the diet. Probiotics in yogurt digest the lactose for you, thus helping to relieve this condition. Yogurt is also a calcium- and vitamin-rich food that's easily digestible by those who suffer from lactose intolerance and is therefore an excellent addition to their diet.

Probiotics help regulate the body's inflammatory response, which relieves the symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The probiotics in yogurt have been accepted as a form of therapy that can actually help maintain remission in people suffering from IBD. A 2003 review of human studies on probiotics concluded that 'the use of probiotics in IBD clearly will not provide a magical cure, but it does offer hope as an adjunct form of therapy, specifically in maintaining a state of remission."


Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Probiotics alter both the populations and the activities of the microflora in our gastrointestinal systems, possibly relieving the symptoms of IBS, though probiotics may prove to be more effective in prevention than in effecting a cure.
For hypertension, probiotics stimulate the production of drug like substances that act in the body like pharmacological blood-pressure-lowering medicines.

Over thirty years ago, scientists were intrigued to find that the Masai tribesmen of Africa had low serum levels of cholesterol as well as low levels of coronary heart disease, despite a diet that was extremely high in meat. The distinguishing characteristic of their diets, aside from high meat consumption, was an extremely high intake of fermented milk (or yogurt)-up to 5 liters daily. Research has now confirmed that yogurt is beneficial to those trying to reduce cholesterol. The probiotics in yogurt reduce the bile acids, which in turn decrease the absorption of cholesterol from the gastrointestinal tract. This effect seems to be seen most reliably in people who already have elevated cholesterol.
Yogurt even helps with ulcers. Probiotics help to eliminate the pathogen Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that is one of the main causes of ulcers and may also be a cause of gastric cancer.

Yogurt has potential benefit in relieving what, in many countries around the world, is a serious threat to the health of millions; Diarrhea. It fights diarrhea by stimulating the immune system, crowding out negative microflora in the intestines and stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics in yogurt are also helpful in treating diarrhea associated with antibiotic use, and some doctors are amazed that yogurt is not routinely recommended to all patients who are being treated with antibiotics.


Most people are surprised to learn that in the United States, nine out of ten women and seven out of ten men don't meet their daily requirement for calcium. What's even more troubling is that nearly 90 percent of teenage girls and 70 percent of teenage boys don't meet their daily calcium requirement. For many, soda has replaced the old "milk at every meal" custom. This portends disastrous future health consequences for large numbers of people. A single 1-cup serving of nonfat plain yogurt supplies 414 milligrams of calcium-an amazing 40 percent of your daily calcium needs and at a cost of only 100 calories. This compares favorably with nonfat milk, which has only 300 milligrams of calcium. The rich amount of potassium in yogurt combined with the calcium also plays a role in normalizing your blood pressure.

Yogurt is also a better source of B vitamins (including foliate), phosphorus, and potassium than milk. Of course, the calcium in yogurt is of great benefit to pre and postmenopausal women and to men and women in their struggle against osteoporosis. A rich source of calcium to begin with, the milk sugar in yogurt actually aids in calcium absorption. Moreover, dairy foods are a source of IGF-l, a growth factor that promotes bone formation, which benefits women over and above the bone-preserving contribution of calcium.
Yogurt is a great source of readily digestible protein. In fact, yogurt supplies double the protein of milk because it's usually thickened with non-fat milk solids, increasing its protein content. Some people, particularly the elderly, just don't consume enough protein or calcium. Studies have shown there's a positive association between protein intake and bone-mineral density of older women and men when they're supplemented with calcium. The lesson: optimum bone health and prevention of osteoporosis depend not just on calcium supplementation, but on sufficient protein intake as well. Yogurt, with its easily digestible protein and calcium, is the answer.

Learn about cabbage diet and how to cook cabbage at the Fruits And Vegetables site.

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