Is your yoghurt doing its job?
May 13th, 2012 Admin
B.-d. Farm Paris Creek’s Blueberry Yogurt is fruity and mild with a touch of sweetness. Made with real blueberries that contain natural antioxidants.
I’ve eaten cheap, commercial yoghurt; expensive, biodynamic, hand-made yoghurt; pot-set yoghurt; stirred yoghurt; Greek yoghurt; natural yoghurt and even sheep’s milk yoghurt. But only one yoghurt gave me a thrill. It happened when I placed a spoonful of B-d Farm Paris Creek yoghurt into my mouth. Tart, runny and totally unlike the thick, heavily sweetened yoghurts that dominate supermarket shelves, it transported me instantly back to my childhood.
“Come here,” I called to my seven-year-old. “This is what yoghurt tasted like when I was little.”She sampled some and screwed up her nose. “It’s a bit sour and a bit runny,” she said. Then she tried some more. “But I like it.”
B-d Farm Paris Creek owner Ulli Spranz says this is a common reaction.
“People remember having natural yoghurt and how healthy it is for you,” she explains from her production facility in the Adelaide Hills.”But a lot of our customers, who grow up with the thicker, creamier yoghurts, think there’s something not quite right about the runnier yoghurt, which has no milk powders, gelatins and stabilisers in it. But once people get used to the consistency, there’s no going back.”
– Culture club
Yoghurt, a product traditionally made from adding cultures (bacteria) to milk, has been a staple food in Western cultures for more than 2000 years. According to Dairy Australia, it is one of the most nutritious products available.
“Like milk and cheese, yoghurt provides more than 10 essential nutrients, including calcium, vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, carbohydrate, protein, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc,” says Glenys Zucco, nutrition media manager for Dairy Australia.
Yoghurt’s principal benefits are promoting bone health and strength, but unlike milk and cheese, it can also aid digestion.
“In addition to the starter bacteria cultures, other bacterial cultures, known as probiotics, may be added to yoghurt for their health benefits,” Zucco says. “Probiotics are ‘friendly’ bacteria that promote intestinal health by restoring the balance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria.”
Although many cultures have believed in yoghurt’s health-giving properties for centuries, an increasing number of recent studies are also pointing to its health benefits. One, published in June 2011 in the New England Journal Of Medicine, showed that eating yoghurt is beneficial for weight management.
The report’s authors said: “Yoghurt consumption was… associated with less weight gain in all three cohorts [studied].” They added that “intriguing evidence suggests that changes in colonic bacteria might influence weight gain”.
Another study, published in the British Journal Of Nutrition in 2011, found that full-fat dairy products such as natural yoghurt may not have as detrimental an effect on cholesterol and blood pressure as previously estimated.
Full story Herald Sun
