The healing power of yogurt and kefir

May 1, 2009

fotolia.com

If someone suggested that you swallow a spoonful of live organisms, you’d probably think Fear factor auditions had come to town…but what if they told you that every spoonful would provide extraordinary improvements in your health?
Well, billions of people willingly eat billions of live organisms every day when they eat yogurt or drink kefir! Both are absolutely brimming with bacteria, the live and active cultures you read about on the label. And that’s a really good thing, because research has shown that these “friendly” bacteria can provide an abundance of benefits such as:
· Strengthen your immune system.
· Help ulcers heal more quickly.
· Help prevent recurrent yeast infections.
· Aid in weight loss, belly fat in particular.
· Reduce several risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
· Reduce several risk factors for intestinal cancers.
· Alleviate microbe-induced traveler’s diarrhea.
· Reduce the rate of childhood respiratory infections.
· Help prevent tooth decay.
Even if you took out the bacteria, it’s still an excellent source of calcium. Yogurt can be especially important for people who lack the enzyme lactase that’s needed to digest the lactose, or sugar, in milk. Even though yogurt does contain lactose, the live bacteria in yogurt help your body break lactose down so it’s less likely to cause discomfort. One cup of plain low-fat yogurt provides 40 percent of the Daily Value.
Kefir, if you’re not familiar, is a fermented, probiotic milk drink that means “good feeling” when translated from the Russian language spoken in the mountains where it originated. It has a distinctive mild but tangy taste. Best-selling author and world-renowned dermatologist Dr. Nicholas Perricone has named kefir as one of his top 10 superfoods. Dr. Perricone’s research has uncovered that hospitals in the former Soviet Union used kefir “to treat conditions ranging from atherosclerosis, allergic disease, metabolic and digestive disorders, and tuberculosis to cancer and gastrointestinal disorders.” Dr. Perricone points out that scientists have discovered that many inflammatory diseases (including some types of heart disease) can be triggered by bacteria. “That provides all the more reason to enjoy kefir as part of your daily diet.” Dr. Perricone recommends Helios or Lifeway kefir.
Top tips for getting the most
Eat it cold
The bacteria in yogurt or kefir are destroyed by heat. When using them in recipes, add after the dish is finished cooking and removed from the heat.
Eat it first
Dr. Perricone suggests starting each day by making a quick smoothie made with two tablespoons of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice (pure pomegranate extract) and a glass of unsweetened whole-milk kefir. I’ve been drinking this breakfast brew for years, mixing either Sambazon acai or pomegranate juice into kefir and I credit it for making huge improvements in my own health.
A lower carb alternative to pomegranate juice is Jarrow Formulas Pomegranate Juice Concentrate, which has only 9 grams of carbs per serving.
Buy it fresh, and organic
Fresh yogurt contains about 100 million bacteria per gram. However, after a few weeks on the shelf, that number quickly dwindles. Therefore, it’s best to buy it from health food stores since these stores usually sell a lot of yogurt and you have a much better chance of getting it fresh. I like Seven Stars Farm low-fat organic yogurt. Stonyfield Farm yogurt is widely available in most grocery stores.
Avoid yogurt that contains added sugars, sweetened fruit or things you can’t pronounce like stabilizers and thickeners. These ingredients will actually detract from the live cultures by disturbing the balance that enables the cultures to thrive.
If you’re not a yogurt fan, and the idea of eating plain yogurt doesn’t thrill you, try mixing it in with cold soups or in to smoothies blended with fresh fruit to mask the taste. It’s a great substitute for sour cream too.

 http://www.examiner.com/article/the-healing-power-of-yogurt-and-kefir