If you are wondering if there are yogurt health benefits from this creamy milk product, you only need to pay attention to the cold shelves of your neighborhood supermarket. There are plain yogurts, sure, but there are yogurt flavors Mother Nature never imagined, yogurts with toppings, yogurt with granola, yogurt with jam on the bottom and even yogurt with cookies. And that doesn’t include the drinks that include yogurt. Assuming that your yogurt isn’t loaded with tons of sugar and artificial-everything, the benefits of eating yogurt are substantial.
Yogurt Health Benefits
Any yogurt review must include the ‘why’ … meaning what makes yogurt so healthy? It’s healthy because the live bacteria that turn milk into a much thicker concoction called yogurt are good for the human body. We’ve probably all heard of probiotics which literally means "for life". "Pro" means ‘in favor of’ and "bios refers to life. We need these probiotics in our digestive system. And here are just a few of the benefits of an ample supply.
Healthier Digestion: the most serious diseases, such as cancer, may be helped by a healthy digestive system. The ailments that aren’t life threatening (at least immediately) but are miserably uncomfortable include constipation and its opposite, diarrhea; inflammatory bowel problems; and even lactose intolerance. These can be avoided or improved (or even cured) with enough friendly bacteria.
Lose Weight With Yogurt: one of the reasons we humans overeat is that we’re – literally – starving! Now obviously an overweight person isn’t starving from lack of food. But our cells starve when they don’t receive what they need for optimal health. This demand for nutrients leads to a clamoring appetite. Milk products can lead to a feeling of comfort and fullness which reduces hunger and makes it a bit easier to resist cravings.
Stronger Bones: yogurt is a milk product, of course, so it has a lot of calcium. Some yogurts contain Vitamin D and that combination with calcium helps to fight dreaded osteoporosis and keep our bones strong. Does this mean that if we eat gallons of yogurt every day we will have super strong bones? No, not at all. This is just one part of healthy bones, but it’s an important part.
Diabetes, Yeast & Candida: women are very prone to getting yeast infections or candida. Diabetics, especially women, are even more prone and studies have shown that a mere six ounces of yogurt each day dramatically reduced the yeast and infections. That’s only ¾ cup which is a very tolerable amount indeed.
Reduced Risk Of High Blood Pressure: medical research has shown that low-fat dairy products can be helpful for reducing blood pressure and that finding includes yogurt.
Yogurt Reviews: Two Cautions
The health benefits of yogurt mentioned above ONLY include those yogurts with active probiotic bacteria. Many yogurts don’t include these and thus offer little in the way of health benefits.
Secondly, many people have reservations about cow’s milk – and I am one of them. For people like us, the alternative is soy yogurt which has become much more common and is even available at many local grocery stores.
Yogurt health benefits are clear and they can help your body in many ways. Pills or yogurt are about the only places to acquire probiotics although a drink called kefir also offers them. However, don’t use yogurt just for its benefits because if you don’t like it you won’t enjoy eating it and pleasure must be a part of any meal. And P.S. – a big bowl of frozen yogurt won’t make you healthy. Too bad. :-)
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