......This is a copy of the new Dannon Pure yogurt label. Divert your attention to the phrase
written in italics at the bottom.
The "active yogurt cultures" these labels are referring to are called probiotics. Pro...what? Sounds like some type of medicine!
Probiotics are actually a main reason why yogurt is so heavily marketed and pushed nowadays! As a society, we overuse antibiotics. Antibiotics get rid of the bacteria in your body....including the good stuff! Yes, there is such a thing as good bacteria. It lives in your gut. In the absence of this healthy "flora", your intestines can`t digest like normal. Symptoms of the missing "good gut bacteria" can be diarrhea, constipation, discomfort, malabsorption, etc. The "active cultures" in yogurt help to pro-mote the growth of or change the bacteria in your gut, restoring your digestive processes to normal. Hence the term pro-biotic! :-)
Different probiotics are have different MO`s. Here are examples of a few:
*Lactobacillus acidophilus: Common in yogurt and cheese...this is the one you`ll see most commonly on a food label! It helps with easier digestion for those who with a lactose intolerance and also prevents
yeast infections.
*Bacillus coagulans: Increases good bacteria particularly in the colon.
*Saccharomyces boulardii: This is less common in food and more common in medical supplements. It helps to treat and prevent Antibiotic Associated Diarrhea (AAD) and C-diff. (Ugh...you don`t even want to know what the last one is!)
Source: Medical Nutrition USA, Inc., eatright.org
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