2008 Woodie Awards
Probiotics: Bacteria that does your body good
Arianne Schulz
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Features
Recently, nutrition seems to be based around functional foods: foods plus health benefits. In particular, probiotic yogurt has taken the yogurt industry by storm, touting benefits of increased immunity, regulating digestion, and being a source of daily calcium.
According to Lifeway Foods Incorporated, probiotics ("beneficial to life") are live cultures that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Pat Kendall, a food science and human nutrition specialist at Colorado State University Extension, has also defined these bacteria as probiotic because they survive through the stomach to the gastro-intestinal tract.
Once in the GI tract, they function as favorable bacteria to maintain a healthy relationship between the 200+ kinds of bacteria that inhabit the GI tract. Researchers have found substantial evidence denoting that there are several strains of essential "good-for-you" bacteria that have the ability to promote healthy gastrointestinal functions, increase immunity and help prevent the development of cancer-causing toxins throughout the body.
Currently, there are several selections of probiotics to choose from which include dairy sources [yogurt and kefir (a yogurt-esque, dairy beverage with roots in the Middle East)], capsule formulas, liquid formulas, powder or tablets, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut.
Kefir beverages usually contain ten cultures including the following: Lactobacillius lactis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Leuconostoc cremoris, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, Saccharomyces florentinus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Conventional yogurts without additional probiotic supplement usually contain Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus.
Dannon's Activia yogurt has become quite popular and well known for its probiotic qualities. Activia is usually the introduction into the "culture" of probiotics. Student Michelle Bartolome is familiar with the probiotic yogurt from Activia and has tried Activia , noting that it tasted similar to conventional yogurt. Taylor Linkins, another student familiar with probiotics, commented that Activia tasted different from typical yogurt.
According to Lifeway Foods Incorporated, probiotics ("beneficial to life") are live cultures that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Pat Kendall, a food science and human nutrition specialist at Colorado State University Extension, has also defined these bacteria as probiotic because they survive through the stomach to the gastro-intestinal tract.
Once in the GI tract, they function as favorable bacteria to maintain a healthy relationship between the 200+ kinds of bacteria that inhabit the GI tract. Researchers have found substantial evidence denoting that there are several strains of essential "good-for-you" bacteria that have the ability to promote healthy gastrointestinal functions, increase immunity and help prevent the development of cancer-causing toxins throughout the body.
Currently, there are several selections of probiotics to choose from which include dairy sources [yogurt and kefir (a yogurt-esque, dairy beverage with roots in the Middle East)], capsule formulas, liquid formulas, powder or tablets, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut.
Kefir beverages usually contain ten cultures including the following: Lactobacillius lactis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Leuconostoc cremoris, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, Saccharomyces florentinus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Conventional yogurts without additional probiotic supplement usually contain Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus.
Dannon's Activia yogurt has become quite popular and well known for its probiotic qualities. Activia is usually the introduction into the "culture" of probiotics. Student Michelle Bartolome is familiar with the probiotic yogurt from Activia and has tried Activia , noting that it tasted similar to conventional yogurt. Taylor Linkins, another student familiar with probiotics, commented that Activia tasted different from typical yogurt.
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