Choosing Yogurt With Lactobacillus Acidophilus
In general, most yogurts contain probiotics, but if you want yogurt with acidophilus, the National Yogurt Associationâs website AboutYogurt.com, recommends looking for their âLive and Active Culturesâ seal. Buying a yogurt with Lactobacillus and the NYA seal ensures that you will be eating refrigerated yogurt that contains at least 100 million cultures per gram at the time of manufacture or frozen yogurt that has 10 million cultures per gram.
With that in mind, when looking for a high-quality yogurt with acidophilus or live and active cultures, the first step is to check for the NYA seal or the words âlive and active culturesâ on the label. There are several brands that meet the NYA criteria, which means, you should be able to find one that you like.
Before you grab a spoon and dig in, youâll want to check the sugar and protein content. When choosing a yogurt, Harvard Health Publishing recommends sticking with one that has less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
Additionally, youâll want to check the label for protein and go with one that has 5 grams or more of protein per serving. Many yogurt companies now offer Greek-style yogurt, which is a great choice if you want some extra protein.
How Do You Know If Yogurt Is Probiotic
There are a few tell-tale signs.
In the USA and Canada its easy to spot. Yogurt manufacturers can display the term ‘probiotic’ or ‘Live’ on their packaging.
In UK or Europe its not so easy.
Under EU regulations yogurt manufactures are banned from using the term ‘probiotic’.
Instead, you’ll find probiotic yogurts called ‘Bio-Live’ or containing ‘Live Cultures’.
How To Flash Freeze Yogurt
Yogurt may seem a little finicky when it comes to freezing. Appropriate steps can be taken to ensure most of the probiotics are protected through this process.
Much like kombucha, experts recommend flash freezing food with probiotics in order to avoid killing the probiotics. If the yogurt is simply placed in the freezer directly then the slow freezing process can damage or kill some of the probiotics.
However, flash freezing yogurt at home is very doable! All you need are a few regular household items.
Follow these steps to flash freeze yogurt:
The yogurt will have been flash frozen so that it is brought to a colder temperature faster which helps preserve the probiotics.
You can follow these steps for yogurt that is already individually wrapped. However, you may way to place the individual yogurt containers in a re-sealable plastic bag in case the lid breaks.
Try to avoid plastic or metal containers as they may affect the health of the probiotics.
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Best Yogurt Alternative Libert 1% Plain Kefir
- Per serving : 105 calories, 2 g fat , 75 mg sodium, 9 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 6 g protein
- Probiotic strains: 2 Billion Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07
This kefir is similar in taste to a plain yogurt drink, but with a slightly more sour taste. It contains 10 different strains of active probiotic cultures and provides 2 billion probiotics per 250ml serving.
The drink is low in fat, and is generally well-tolerated by people with lactose intolerance, making it a great alternative for yogurt if youre looking to try something different. Kefir tastes great on its own, but also works well when poured over your favourite cereal, or blended into a smoothie.
Nutritional Profile Of Greek Yogurt
100g of plain Greek yogurt, which is about 5½ tablespoons, contains 133 calories, almost 6g of protein and 10g of fat which is both saturated and unsaturated fat. It also contains about 5g of carbohydrates which is largely lactose .
Greek yogurt is a good source of calcium which is needed for healthy bones and teeth as well as muscle contractions, and it contains a good array of B vitamins which we need for energy. Greek yogurt also contains iodine which helps support thyroid health and metabolic rate and also helps keep our cells healthy.
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Best Yogurt Drink Danone Danactive
- Per serving : 80 calories, 1.5 g fat , 50 mg sodium, 13 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 3 g protein
- Probiotic strain: Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001
- Studied benefits: decrease the frequency and length of the common cold
This is actually a yogurt drink, which makes it easy to take with you when youre on the move. It contains 10 billion active probiotic cultures in every bottle, and is a source of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin A.
The drink comes in 7 flavours, including strawberry, vanilla, and mixed berry.
The only downside is that it does have a fairly high amount of sugar, with 10 grams per bottle, with sugar listed as the third ingredient on the label.
Siggi’s Icelandic Strained Yogurt
Per 1 cup, plain: 120 calories, 0 g fat, 6 g sugar, 23 g protein
Both Baumohl and Middleberg recommend this yogurt. “Personally, my favorite yogurt is Siggi’s Icelandic yogurt because of its creamy texture and rich taste,” Baumohl says. Middleberg notes that it’s low in sugar and contains five live active bacteria cultures.
Buy it: Price: $5.99
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What Is Probiotic Yogurt
MacNeil explains that all yogurt in Canada is made with the bacteria Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, however these bacteria are not recognized as probiotics by Health Canada.
Some yogurt manufacturers will add pre-approved probiotic strains, she explains. To be called a probiotic food, yogurt must contain at least one billion live colony-forming units of a recognized probiotic species per serving.
In order to benefit from probiotics, you need to consume at least 100 million colony-forming units each day.
There are a few other details you should look for on a yogurt label when considering which brand to purchase. MacNeill suggests looking for a yogurt with a short ingredients list, citing that less is often more.
For example, Nancys Organic plain yogurt contains just three ingredients: Organic pasteurized whole milk, organic pasteurized nonfat milk, and live yogurt cultures.
Overall, she says that yogurt should be a good source of protein without providing excess added sugars or artificial sweeteners. If you are looking to increase your protein intake, she recommends Greek yogurt, since it is strained twice and is therefore higher in protein.
The only downside to Greek yogurt, however, is that the straining process removes some of the calcium. If youre trying to increase your calcium intake, MacNeill recommends looking for a yogurt that provides at least 15% of the daily value of calcium.
The Benefits Of Eating Yoghurt
A cursory look down any supermarket dairy aisle will tell you just how big the yoghurt market has become there are flavoured varieties, fat-free varieties and even varieties that promise to reduce bloating.
Despite all the confusion, yoghurt is an important and healthy food to eat if it includes as little ingredients as possible. This is because part of it is made with live bacteria that helps our stomach digest carbohydrates easier.
“Yoghurt is known as a probiotic, because it contains microorganisms. These living bacteria can aid in digestion and help build the numbers of healthy bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts,” says Mills.
“In addition, yoghurt is low in salt and is wonderful for people trying to maintain or lose weight because it often keeps you feeling full, preventing the likelihood of reaching for high salty, fatty and sugary snacks.”
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What Is The Healthiest Yogurt Brand
The 15 healthiest Greek yogurt brands.
Probiotics In Greek Yogurt Vs Regular Yogurt
Yogurt is well known for being a source of probiotics a form of friendly bacteria found in fermented foods. Probiotics are created during the fermentation process of converting milk to yogurt and are forms of live bacteria that feed our gut and support our overall health. Both regular yogurt and Greek yogurt are good sources of probiotic bacteria, assuming they are made through the traditional process and only include milk and active bacterial cultures.
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Bacteria In Your Digestive System
Bacteria are typically associated with disease. However, human beings rely on bacteria. In fact, there may be as many bacteria in people as there are cells in the human body. This means that the bacteria in the body, especially the trillions of bacteria in the digestive tract, are incredibly important, as their balance can profoundly affect your health.
The balance of bacteria in your gut is known as the microbiome. The gut microbiome can affect various components of your health, such as your personality, immune system and central nervous system. It can also affect whether or not you suffer from digestive system issues, like irritable bowel syndrome.
In addition, many people don’t realize the importance of the digestive system to the brain. However, the gut and brain are linked directly, via the longest cranial nerve in the body, the vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve is able to detect the different types of microbes in your digestive system’s microbiome. Since this nerve plays a major role in a variety of health problems, like inflammatory bowel disease and other biopsychosocial diseases, the bacteria in your gut can play a major role in symptoms, disease progression and overall health.
Read more:13 Surprising and Beneficial Probiotic Foods
Our Pick For Best Overall Activia
- Per serving : 120 calories, 5 g fat , 80 mg sodium, 10 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 9 g protein
- Probiotic strain: B.L. Regularis / Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010
- Studied benefits: improve regularity, as well as decrease stomach pain and bloating in those with irritable bowel syndrome
Activia offers a range of different products including lactose-free yogurt, a yogurt drink, and even yogurt with added fibre. Activia yogurt provides 10 billion active probiotic cultures per serving, and carries a plain flavour that does not contain added sugar.
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Benefit No : Yogurt May Reduce The Risk Of High Blood Pressure
One study, which followed more than 5,000 university graduates in Spain for about two years, found a link between dairy intake and risk of high blood pressure.
“We observed a 50% reduction in the risk of developing high blood pressure among people eating 2-3 servings of low-fat dairy a day , compared with those without any intake,” Alvaro Alonso, MD, PhD, a researcher in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, says in an email interview.
Although most of the low-fat dairy consumed by the study subjects was as milk, Alvaro believes low-fat yogurt would likely have the same effect. Dutch researchers recently reported that higher dairy consumption was modestly linked to lower blood pressure in 2064 Dutch men and women ages 50 to 75.
Is Greek Yogurt High In Protein
Standard Greek yogurt is a good source of protein with around 5g per 100g.
There are some yogurt products now available which have a similar consistency to Greek yogurt, called Skyr. They are naturally higher in protein and have around 10g of protein per 100g, but technically they are classed as a sour milk cheese.
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Is Active Yogurt Cultures The Same As Probiotics
Myth: Most yogurts are generally a good source of probiotics Just because its yogurt, doesnt mean there are probiotics in it, Hibberd said. Some yogurts that include the words live and active cultures on their ingredients list offer billions of good bacteria in a serving. But not all of them do.
How Long Do Probiotics Last
Most probiotic supplements indicate a shelf life on their label of about one year. According to regulations, this means that the number of probiotics present in the supplement at the time of manufacturing must remain the same until they reach that expiry date.
Unfortunately, probiotics are very sensitive to environmental conditions, and elements like heat and light can kill them in both supplements and food. This means that if the product has been handled improperly during transportation, or if you stored it incorrectly, the probiotics may no longer be living.
Expired probiotics will not harm you, however you will not experience their benefits if they are expired.
The difficulty is that labelling regulations require manufacturers to put the total number of probiotics on their container, but this weight could include both the living and dead microorganisms.
You might purchase a product that claims it contains 10 billion live bacterial cultures, but there is no good way of knowing whether or not those bacteria are alive or dead. For this reason, researchers at Harvard Health Publishing recommend skipping the supplement altogether and getting your daily dose of probiotics from fermented foods like yogurt.
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May Help Keep You Full And Support A Healthy Body Weight
Protein is the most filling macronutrient, and adding sources of protein such as dairy to meals and snacks is a smart way to help you feel satisfied between meals .
Because yogurt is a filling, protein-rich food, choosing yogurt and other high protein foods over less filling foods can help support a healthy body weight.
A review of 22 studies concluded that yogurt consumption is associated with lower body fat, less weight gain, and smaller waist circumference .
However, remember that your overall diet and lifestyle matters most when it comes to reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Which Yogurt Is Best For Weight Loss
The 9 Best Yogurts for Weight Loss
- If You Like Vanilla Varieties.
- EAT THIS: Siggis Icelandic Style Strained Non-Fat Yogurt, Vanilla.
- NOT THAT: Yoplait Thick and Creamy, Vanilla.
- If You Prefer a Peachy Parfait.
- EAT THIS: Kalona Super Natural Organic 2% Peach Yogurt.
- NOT THAT: Dannon Fruit on the Bottom, Peach.
- If Youre Looking for an Indulgent Mix-In.
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What Are The Top 3 Probiotics
Culturelle Daily Probiotic,Digestive Health Capsules. Probiotics 60 billion CFU. Renew Life #1 Womens Probiotic. Dr Mercola Complete Probiotics. Vegan Probiotic with Prebiotic capsules. Dr Ohhiras Probiotics Original Formula 60 capsules. Mason Natural, Probiotic Acidophilus with Pectin. Probiotic Protein.More itemsMar 14, 2021
Chobani Complete Greek Yogurt
Per container, vanilla: 120 calories, 2.5 g fat , 6 g sugar, 15 g protein
Chobani’s Complete line is one of the best probiotic Greek yogurts because it also includes fiber from chicory root for a more balanced, filling snack. A container has 15 grams or 30 percent of your DV of protein, and it’s also a good source of probiotics, with six live and active cultures.
Buy it: Price: $1.39
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So Is Greek Yogurt Better Than Regular Yogurt
Although regular yogurt and Greek yogurt do have subtle nutritional differences, one is not better than the other, they are simply different. Greek yogurt is merely regular yogurt that has been extensively strained to create a slightly higher protein, thicker and creamier textured yogurt. If you are looking to boost your protein intake or prefer a thicker yogurt, Greek yogurt is a great option, however, regular yogurt is equally as nutrient-dense and rich in probiotics.
It’s Also Full Of Vitamins And Minerals
“All yogurts are excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12,” says Brooking. “What distinguishes Greek yogurt is its thicker, creamier texture because the liquid whey is strained out. Greek yogurt also contains probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose.”
Not sure what to cook with it? Here are 26 Things You Can Make with Yogurt.
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How To Buy The Best Greek Yogurt
There are many different varieties of Greek yogurt available and some of this will come down to personal preference or taste.
Plain Greek yogurt is a good choice, as they contain good quantities of all the macronutrients: protein, fat and carbohydrates and no added sugar or sweeteners. You could add prepared fresh fruit such as bananas, apples or berries, if you like.
You can also buy varieties that are pre-flavoured with fruit purées or honey these are likely to be higher in sugar and calories, so may be best enjoyed as an occasional treat.
Low-fat or fat-free varieties will be lower in calories but bear in mind that they may also contain more sugar manufacturers often add this to make up the lost flavour when the fat is reduced. If you’re looking to control your calorie intake, a smaller portion size of normal Greek yogurt may be best, and the fat content will provide longer satiety.
Check the labels to ensure that the variety you are buying contains probiotics for extra health benefits.
Anitas Vegan Plain Coconut Yogurt
Per 6 oz., plain: 395 calories, 33 g fat , 3 g sugar, 4 g protein
Another plant-based, probiotic-rich option Middleberg recommends is Anita’s Coconut Yogurt. Each serving contains more than 300 billion live probiotic cultures per serving, per the Anita’s Coconut Yogurt website.
But note that one 6-ounce serving is high in calories and saturated fat, so you might want to enjoy a half serving at a time or have Anita’s less frequently.
Buy it: Price: $10.99
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