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The great yogurt debate

May 11, 2015

There are so many to choose from but consuming yogurt could lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)

It is no surprise that yogurt has become increasingly popular over the years, with nutritionists and celebrities advocating it as a health food.

It is a fact that there are probiotics, or good bacteria, such as lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophiles that are good for your digestive system.

If you have ever taken antibiotics, or take antibiotics frequently, your doctor has probably recommended eating yogurt to you at some point.

However, other bacteria in yogurt such as Lactobaccillus casei produce histamines, causing people to feel tired and may produce some not so beneficial effects that may cause obesity and diabetes.

Greek yogurt has especially been a popular fad in recent years. Greek yogurt is different than regular yogurt in that it does not contain high fructose corn syrup and has twice as much protein.

There are many people and researchers who question whether yogurt is as healthy as some claim. A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that involved researchers from Autonomous University of Madrid tracked and analyzed data on over 4000 adults over a course of 4 years.

They found that the people who ate yogurt on a regular basis did not have that much better of a quality of life in terms of physical and mental health. This contradicts previous research that found regular yogurt consumption to better health by decreasing the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure as well as gaining less weight.

However, it is important to note that this new study is based on a self-reported measure of physical and mental health. It is not based on actual medical data that can be provided by, for example, a blood test.

Those who also claim that yogurt is not as healthy as many people think claim that doctors don’t prescribe probiotics for medical reasons. Yogurt serves more as a supplement than as medication.

However, it is almost universally agreed that yogurt is healthy if people choose unsweetened, organic and plain yogurt. This kind of yogurt contains a lot of calcium and potassium, in addition to probiotics.

Other yogurts have a lot of sugar and are high in fat and these yogurts should be avoided if people are trying to lose weight or become healthier.

While we won’t know if yogurt is truly beneficial or not until further research is carried out, people shouldn’t give up yogurt yet. More benefits may be found down the road.

Deborah Rheem
Crescenta Valley High School 12th Grade

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