Yogurt not only serves as an important source of protein, calcium and other nutrients, but some types can help improve the health of your digestive tract through promoting the growth of healthy bacteria. Depending on how the yogurt is made, it can have prebiotic and/or probiotic properties, both of which work to increase the levels of beneficial bacteria in the intestines.
Intestinal Bacteria
The intestines naturally contain many different bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria, that play an important role in the body. These bacteria can colonize your digestive tract without destroying healthy tissue or causing any infections. These bacteria can actually help prevent infections because they can crowd out potentially infectious bacteria. The natural bacteria in your intestines are also important for stimulating your immune system and helping break down undigested food particles.
Prebiotic Yogurt
The bacteria that naturally live in your intestines use prebiotics as a food source. Although yogurt does not naturally contain any prebiotics, some yogurt manufacturers add prebiotics to their products. Most prebiotic substances are varieties of soluble fiber. Your digestive tract does not absorb the fiber, allowing it to pass through to the gut bacteria. One commonly used prebiotic is inulin, which can be extracted from chicory root.
Probiotic Yogurt
Probiotics are foods or supplements that contain live bacteria similar to the type found in your intestines. All yogurts contain a certain amount of bacteria because Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria are needed to make the yogurt. Some types of yogurt also have other kinds of bacteria added to help boost their probiotic potential. For example, Dannon's Activia yogurt contains a special strain known as Bifidum regularis designed to withstand the acidic environment of the stomach.
Effectiveness and Safety
Although it appears there are many benefits to consuming yogurt fortified with prebiotics and/or probiotics, the effects of such yogurt still need researching. In general, people can consume prebiotic and probiotic substances safely, but increasing the levels of bacteria in your intestines can cause gas, flatulence, bloating and belching. This can happen if you consume too many prebiotic or probiotic substances before your intestines are accustomed to them, so don't eat too many cups of yogurt, especially if you are just starting.
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