Yogurt/ABC Wednesday

Y is for Yogurt

Growing up, I never like milk.  Probably because I was "forced" to drink fresh milk as a child when I wanted soda.  My father who advocated milk-drinking in the family tried to give us  choices--from canned fresh milk to soya milk, chocolate-flavored milk, Yakult, etc.  My siblings grew up to be milk drinkers, I am not.  And after a few incidents with milk products, I believe I am  lactose-intolerant.

When yogurt became the craze of dieters in the office, I tried it, too, but later declared that the taste was disgusting!  But I do like yogurt when used as salad dressing or as a condiment.  

Yogurt or yoghurt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk.  The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures". Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and its characteristic tang.  Cow's milk is commonly used worldwide to make yogurt, but milk in water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels and yaks is also used in various parts of the world.

Dairy yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus bacteria. Other lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are also sometimes added during or after culturing yogurt.

I read about the health benefits of yogurt and have been trying to find a flavor that I'd like.  I buy mango or blueberry flavored yogurt and just close my eyes to swallow each tablespoon.  Until I "discovered" frozen yogurt!

Frozen yogurt has the consistency of ice cream, and the flavors mask the tartness of yogurt.  Now, it has become my favorite snack and dessert.  I usually add some toppings like fresh fruits, cherries, nuts (almond flakes, macadamia), and choco-coated crunchies.

Yogurt has been around for centuries.  Records in ancient cultures of India and Iran, yogurt was mentioned by 500 BCE.  A combination of yogurt and honey was considered "food for the gods" in ancient India.  Medieval Turks used yogurt as written in 11th century literature.  Before the turn of the century, yogurt was a staple in diets of people in the Russian Empire, western Asia, eastern and central Europe and India.  18th century doctors believed that regular consumption of yogurt was responsible for the unusually long lifespan of Bulgarian peasants.

toppings

Yogurt is marketed as a health food.  It is nutritionally rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.  It has nutritional benefits beyond those of milk.  Lactose-intolerant individuals can sometimes tolerate yogurt better than other dairy products, because the lactose in the milk is converted to glocuse and galactose, and partially fermented to lactic acid, by the bacterial culture.

Yogurt containing live cultures has been found effective in a randomized trial at preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhea.  Yogurt contains varying amounts of fat. There is non-fat (0% fat), low-fat (usually 2% fat) and plain or whole milk yogurt (4% fat).  A study published in the International Journal of Obesity also found that the consumption of low-fat yogurt can promote weight loss, especially due to the calcium in the yogurt. Source 

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