The Health Benefits of Yogurt

I was listening to a health program on NPR the other day which was talking about things like white rice and white potatoes and bread being as bad for you as sugar. It was from a new study, and the results say to treat these foods just as you would sugar. In other words, eat them in very small quantities. The program went on to talk a little bit about the benefits of yogurt, a food I thoroughly enjoy, so I came home and did some further research and found that it is even better for us than I thought.

Yogurt can give you flat abs. I don't know if I believe this one, but the research says that if you eat 18 ounces (that's a lot) a day you can drop a jeans size. People who ate that much, in conjunction with cutting their total calories, lost 22% more weight and 61% more belly fat than dieters who didn't. Fat around your waist produces the hormone cortisol, which tells your body to accumulate even more belly flab. When you eat yogurt, the calcium signals your fat cells to pump out less cortisol, making it easier for you to drop pounds.

Most yogurt brands contain live and active cultures, which means the yogurt has probiotics, beneficial bugs that live in your digestive tract. Many yogurts now contain a special strain of probiotics meant to help regulate your digestion or strengthen your immune system.

Yogurt is loaded with vitamins and calcium. It contains too many vitamins to list them all here, but I do want to mention that it contains vitamin B12, found mostly in animal products, so it's a great product for strict vegetarians. Vitamin B12 maintains red blood cells and helps keep your nervous stystem functioning properly.

A cup of yogurt a day can help you recover faster after a workout. With the right ratio of protein to carbohydrates, yogurt, particularly high protein Greek yogurt, is the perfect after workout snack. It is best to eat within 60 minute8 of exercise. The protein and amino acids it provides will help repair your muscles.

Not all yogurt is created equal. If calcium is what you're looking for, stick to plain, unsweetened yogurt. Added fruit takes up precious space in the container, thus you will be consuming less calcium. Most yogurts add vitamin D today, as it helps boost calcium absorption.

Yogurt may help reduce high blood pressure. Most of us eat far above the recommended daily allowance of sodium, and eating yogurt, which contains potassium, may help flush out the excess sodium.

My favorite yogurt these days is the rich, thick Greek yogurt. I love Fage and Greek Goddess. I buy the plain, and if I want fruit, I add my own. That way there is no added sugar, unless I choose to add it. 18 ounces of yogurt a day is a lot. I don't think I can eat that much, and that's an awful lot of calories. I don't know how I could lose weight eating that much yogurt. I don't think the delicous frozen yogurt I love so much would count as part of my yogurt intake for the day. It probably contains some nutritional values, but not like the plain Greek yogurt. For now, I'll eat both.