If you enjoy eating yogurt, you may have experimented with adding fruits, nuts or cereals to create variety. Goji berries have recently gained popularity as a "miracle" fruit. While not all claims regarding these berries are true, the berries may have potent antioxidant properties. Adding good-quality yogurt and goji berries to your diet can be a healthy way to increase your vitamin and mineral intake.
Yogurt Process
Yogurt is the end result of a fermentation process. Its history stretches back thousands of years to Turkey, where it was introduced by the Mongols. The Turkish word for yogurt is "yoghurmak," which means to thicken. Yogurt is made by adding a "starter" of active yogurt containing Lactobacillus bulgaricus, L. acidophilus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which are bacterial cultures. Their job is to produce lactic acid from the fermentation of lactose; this process makes yogurt tolerable for those with lactose intolerance. The lactic acid lowers the pH, makes it tart, causes the milk protein to thicken and acts as a preservative.
Yogurt Nutrition
The highest-quality yogurts contain live cultures of bacteria. Many yogurt products exist without these probiotics, however, so be sure to read the ingredient label. Yogurt is also an excellent source of iodine; a cup of low-fat yogurt contains 58 percent of your daily value. As the World's Healthiest Foods website notes, yogurt also is a good source of calcium and phosphorous, both of which are needed for bone health. Yogurt contains vitamins B2 and B12, as well as some B5. Zinc, molybdenum and potassium round out its mineral content. It also has some tryptophan, the precursor to the important brain chemical serotonin, which regulates mood and can help with sleep.
Goji Berries
The goji berry, or Tibetan Lycium fruit, is native to the Himalayas. According to the Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute, the fruit was not given the name "goji" until the 1970s, but its use stretches back thousands of years in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medicine. The Lycium species more often found in supplements and health food stores is the Chinese "wolfberry," or Lycium barbarum. Both species contain antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals.
Goji Berry Nutrition
The nutritional content of goji berries can differ depending on the species and the processing; sun-dried goji berries may lose some of their vitamin properties because of heat. The Tibetan Lycium berry contains a high concentration of L-leucine, as well as an additional 18 amino acids. These berries contain 21 trace minerals, linoleic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, betaine, beta carotene and vitamin E. You will also be getting several B vitamins, including B1, B2 and B6.
Yogurt with Goji Berries
A handful of goji berries, either Tibetan or Chinese, can provide you with a low-fat source of protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Research has shown that both goji berries and yogurt can have health benefits. Lycium barbarum has been found to increase the serum antioxidant status of healthy adults, according to a January 2009 study in "Nutrition Research." Yogurt's active bacterial cultures can help soothe digestive tract concerns such as diarrhea, as well as potentially help prevent cancer. The "Medical Science Monitor" published a study in April 2004 that found that feeding yogurt to rats exposed to carcinogens inhibited colon cancer growth.
References
- U.C. Clermont College: Biology: Yogurt Production
- The World's Healthiest Foods: Yogurt
- Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute: Goji Berry
- Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute: Goji Nutritional Content
- "Nutrition Research"; Lycium barbarum (Goji) Juice Improves In Vivo Antioxidant Biomarkers in Serum of Healthy Adults; H. Amagase, B. Sun and C. Borek; January 2009
- "Medical Science Monitor"; Yogurt Feeding Inhibits Promotion and Progression of Experimental Colorectal Cancer; April 2004
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