Why Yogurt Is A Superfood
Besides being yummy, yogurt is one of the healthiest foods you can feed your family. Stonyfield Farm is a particular favorite yogurt brand of Dr. Bill’s since it features the finest, all natural and certified organic ingredients. — never any artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives.
Here are four reasons why we feed our family of eight children lots of yogurt:
Yogurt is a great “grow food.”
We call nutrient-dense foods “grow foods,” those that pack a lot
of nutrition in a small volume. Because babies, toddlers and children have tiny
tummies, they don’t
often eat a lot at one time, which is why feeding them nutrient-dense
foods is important. Yogurt is a grow food because it is packed with
protein and calcium. Eight ounces of yogurt contains from eight to twelve grams
of protein and 30-40 percent of the recommended daily needs for calcium.
Yogurt is easy to digest.
The culturing process makes yogurt easier to digest than milk. The live active cultures create lactase, the enzyme that lactose-intolerant people lack. As a protein perk, the culturing renders the protein less allergenic, which is another reason why we pediatricians have noticed that many persons who can’t tolerate milk can comfortably digest yogurt.
Yogurt is an intestinal-friendly food.
The bacterial cultures in yogurt keep the intestines healthy and benefit the overall immune system.
Stonyfield yogurt has six live active cultures, more than any leading brand. They are:
- L. bulgaricus
- S. thermophilus
- Lactobacillus acidophilus, which provides various health benefits in the gastrointestinal tract;
- Bifidobacteria (Bifidus), to stimulate the immune system, help prevent common digestive ailments and support healthy growth and development of the digestive tract;
- Lactobacillus casei, which enhances positive bacterial balance in the intestine;
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus.
The beneficial bacteria in yogurt are known as probiotics because they enhance the growth of healthy bacteria throughout the gut. These healthy bacteria, in return for a warm place to live, do good things for the gut. The healthy bacteria keep the harmful bacteria in check. They nourish the cells of the large intestine, reducing the development of colon cancer. As a colon cancer survivor myself, I eat at least twelve ounces of organic yogurt nearly every day. Because of its intestinal healing properties, it is now standard for physicians to treat persons suffering from diarrhea illnesses or inflammatory bowel problems with daily doses of yogurt. Be sure to serve a yogurt that is high in probiotics (e.g. lactobacillus cultures), such as Stonyfield organic yogurt, which has the highest value of any yogurt.
Yogurt is a convenient and versatile food.
Besides eating it straight from the container, here are some yogurt-combining tips:
- Add yogurt to a fruit smoothie, or save time by picking up a Stonyfield Farm Smoothie.
- Put a dollop on warm oatmeal or eat it with cold cereal in place of milk.
- Mix yogurt with milk and put it in the freezer. Take it out when it’s
partially frozen, stir, and you have a gelato-like frozen dessert
- Use yogurt instead of sour cream on baked potatoes, burritos, and fajitas; check the recipes on this website for other substitution ideas!
- Mix yogurt with herbs and spices to make dips and salad dressing.
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