What’s In Your Yogurt?
When I first learned that not all yogurt contained “live and active culture”, I became inquisitive and began reading yogurt labels. Indeed to my surprise, not all yogurt were created equal. Some yogurt contained more varieties of bacteria than others.
The National Yogurt Association states that if the yogurt is fermentated by heat, no good bacteria are present. The words, “live and active culture” simply define that there are two common strains of live bacteria used in the culture - Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermaophilus but does not guarantee that there will be any live culture upon consumption. Until minimum guidelines are established for “active and live” culture, those wanting probiotics (good bacteria) in their diets will have to do some guess work on their own.
According to Taste for Life’s April 2006 issue, there are more than 400 different strains of bacteria presently available to help humans fight allergies and the bad bacteria. There has even been talk recently in the media that suggests bacteria may aid in fight of obesity. Good bacteria are beneficial in that they manufacture nutrients to keep the immune system healthy, such as the B complex, amino acids, and short chain fatty acids. Most good bacteria resides in the human’s gastrointestinal tract but also can be found in the respiratorial and urogenital area.
Below is a chart I put together of the different brands of yogurt currently available on the market. This chart will be updated as time permits.
| Yogurt | # of Strain(s) | Names of Strain(s) |
| Brown Cow | 4 | Bifidus, L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus |
| Columbo Plain Nonfat | 1 | L. Acidophilus |
| Dannon Activia | 3 | Bifidobacterium, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus |
| Dannon DanActive Plain | 3 | L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophillus, L. Casei DefensisTM (What type of strain?) |
| Fage Greek Yogurt (2%) | 2 | L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus |
| Horizon Plain Yogurt | 5 | B. Bidus, L. Acidophilus, L. Buglaricus, L. Casei, S. Thermophilus, |
| Nancy’s Organic Low Fat Plain | 6 | B. Bifidum, L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Casei, L.Rhamnosus, S. Thermophilus |
| Saint Bernoit Yogurt (Yogurt in a Ceramic Cup) | 2 | L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus (Culture from France) |
| Straus Family Creamy Plain Whole Milk | 4 | Bifidus, L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, |
| Stonyfield Whole Milk Plain | 6 | Bifidus, L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Casei, L. Reuteri, S. Thermophilus |
| Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Cheese Style | 3 | L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, S. Thermophilus |
| Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Yogurt Plain | 4 | Bifidus, L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus |
| Voskos Greek Style | 5 | L. acidophilus, B. bidfidus, S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. casei |
| Wally Plain Yogurt | 4 | acidophilus, bifidus, bulgaricus, thermophilus |
| Whole Food Plain | 4 | Bifidus, L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus |
| Yoplait Nonfat Plain | unknown | unknown |
| Helios Kefir (similar to yogurt) | 7 | Lactobacillus Kefyr, Lactococcus Lactis, Lactococcus Cremoris, Lactococcus Diacetylactis, Leuconostoc Cremoris, Candida Kefyr, Saccharomyces Unisporous |
| Lifeway Kefir (similiar to yogurt) | 10 | Lactobacillus Lactis, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, Streptococcus Diacetylactis, Lactobacillus Planatarum, Lactobacillius Casei, Saccharmyces Florentinus, Leuconostoc Cremoris, Bifidobacterium Longum, Bifidobacterium Breve, Lactobactillus Acidophilus |
| Key: | ||
| B. = Bifidobacteria | ||
| L. = Lactobacillus | ||
| S. = Streptococcus | ||
| Children | Adult | |
| Resident Bacteria | B. Infantis, B. Bifidum, B. Longum, B. Breve, L. Acidophilus | L. Acidophilus, B. Bacterium, L. Salivarius, Enterococci |
| Passing Through Bacteria | L. Bulgarius, S. Thermophilus | L. Casei (from cheese), S. Thermophilus, L. Salivarius, L. Bulgarius |
While probiotics are more prevalent in Europe and in Asia, they are still in the infancy stage in the US. My personal experience with probiotics is that they work best at improving digestion but do a poor job with allergies. They are the natural form of Beano and are great for those who cannot digest some type of sugar, such as olyssacharide. Probiotics work best on those who haven’t digested any antibiotics recently.
Sources:
http://health.howstuffworks.com/health-benefits-of-yogurt-ga.htm
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=FCF059B3A04A642ECA4C21BD3FA5E9E3
http://www.nature.com/nature/videoarchive/gutmicrobes/index.html
http://www.microbeworld.org/microbes/bacteria/default.aspx
http://www.microbeworld.org/look/radio.aspx
http://www.knowitsyogurt.com/
http://www.bellinstitute.com/bihn/productinfo/product_detail.aspx?cat_1=20&extCatID=55#
The New Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford
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