Why Dannon Activa™
and Other Mass-Market Probiotic Products are Not as Healthy as You Think
With all the focus on the health benefits of yogurt, sauerkraut and
other fermented foods, how do you choose the products with the best
health punch? Learn the best probiotic choices here.
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While you may not hear a lot of buzz about fermented foods and drinks, you
have probably heard all the buzz about probiotics.
In fact, Dannon has gone a long way to talk about probiotics with their Dannon
Activa™ yogurt. Dannon Activa™ is a lowfat yogurt that claims to
decrease intestinal transit time. But does it deliver the health benefits
that will build your inner ecosystem?
In this article, I will cover the popular probiotic foods and drinks on the
market, along with the best probiotic products for a healthy inner ecosystem
that promotes inner energy and outer beauty.
Probiotic Product Problems
Probiotic means "for life" and they do indeed have some important
life giving qualities. Probiotics are the healthy microflora
(beneficial bacteria and yeast) that keep you healthy and strong. With enough
of them in your intestines, they can boost your immunity, keep you looking
beautiful and help you digest foods.
But not all probiotics are created equal. In fact, some studies have found
that only half of all probiotic products actually have the healthy bacteria
listed on their labels.1
Here are 3 key problems with many probiotic products on the market:
- Not potent - 50% of products do not contain the healthy bacteria
that they claim. Even those that do may not have the right mix of healthy
microflora to repopulate your inner ecosystem.
- Not effective - Many probiotic products (including supplements)
are not prepared in a way that allows the most beneficial bacteria and yeast
to thrive in your digestive system. Harsh stomach acids can kill probiotics,
and if they do survive stomach acid they may not be the kind of probiotics
that recolonize your inner ecosystem.
- Not natural - Too many probiotic products are processed, removing
much of the benefits of whole food. Additionally, they may contain ingredients
that are harmful to your health, like sugar.
While microflora use up sugar for fuel, too much sugar in any product has
harmful affects to your health.
However, there are many GREAT choices for probiotic foods and beverages
on the market! At Body Ecology, we have long promoted the benefits of
all natural fermented foods and drinks. There are several very good options
on the market, but unfortunately some very poor choices as well.
Choose Wisely: An Overview of Popular Fermented Foods and Drinks
Whenever I look at a probiotic product, I want to know whether it will build
a healthy inner ecosystem thriving with friendly microflora without feeding
pathogenic bacteria and yeast.
Here are some of the popularly known fermented foods and drinks, along with
our Body Ecology comments:
Yogurt -The most popular fermented food in the US is best when it
is made with "live active cultures." Some yogurts on the
market are "heat treated after culturing," and this causes
them to lose two major health benefits:
(1) The heat treated or pasteurization process kills the lactase,
which would have made the diary more digestible
(2) Heat treating also kills the live active cultures.
Additionally, if the label shows less protein and more sugar or stabilizers,
the yogurt is lower in nutritional value. Many brands of yogurt on the
market today are more like processed desserts than beneficial yogurt.
Body Ecology Says: We are not big yogurt fans and really prefer that
people drink kefir (see below for the reasons). The better-quality plain yogurt
- the one with the fewer ingredients (e.g., just milk and live active cultures)
has the most nutritional benefits (protein, calcium, live cultures, easier
to digest than milk). Since most yogurts are pasteurized, we recommend making
your own yogurt at home with organic raw milk from grass-fed, hormone-free
cows. Add Stevia
for a sweet taste that does not feed candida.
Dannon Activa, while containing live cultures, also has some pretty
awful sugars including fructose, corn starch, and modified corn starch. There
are other questionable ingredients added for flavor and consistency. Like
most other yogurts sold in your store, it also is pasteurized. All of these
things lower Dannon Activa's nutritional value and all that sugar will definitely
feed pathogenic microorganisms, like candida.
Kefir - Kefir is still the leader in nutrition when compared to yogurt.
While traditional recipes for yogurt contained live active cultures, the bacteria
were transient beneficial bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus bulgaricus). These do not colonize your colon. The bacteria
and beneficial yeast in kefir can actually colonize the intestinal tract,
and this makes all the difference in the world since it's one key reason you
are eating this deliciously-sour fermented food.
- Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly
found in yogurt (e.g., Lactobacillus kefyr, Leuconostoc mesenteroides
subsp. cremoris, and Lactococcus lactis subsp. diacetylactis).
- Kefir also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir,
which can dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic
yeasts in your body. They do so by protecting the mucosal lining where unhealthy
yeast and bacteria reside, forming a virtual SWAT team that cleans up and
strengthens your intestines. Therefore, your body becomes more efficient
in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites.
- The curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, making it easier to digest,
which makes it a particularly excellent, nutritious food for babies, invalids
and the elderly, as well as a remedy for digestive disorders.
Body Ecology Says - Making your own kefir at home with a fermented
food and drink starter is the best way to get the most health benefits
from kefir. We recommend adding kefir from cow or goat milk (raw is best)
to your diet in stage
2 of Body Ecology.
Sauerkraut - Last year, BBC News reported that sauerkraut could cure
the avian flu (bird flu) and other studies show it reduces the risk of breast
cancer. Unfortunately, most commercially prepared sauerkrauts found on grocery
shelves today are pasteurized (which destroys precious enzymes), contain vinegar
and have added refined salt (mineral-depleted), which eliminates any
health benefits.
Body Ecology Says: To obtain really potent amounts of beneficial
bacteria from sauerkruat, we have always recommended cultured
vegetables, which you can make at home using a fermented
food and drink starter.
A crucial, general rule of thumb to remember is that
the mass-process sauerkrauts, pickles and other foods that try to mimic traditionally
fermented foods do not provide the benefits that live, enzyme and microflora-rich
REAL fermented foods provide.
Cultured Butter - Butter is best when made from raw milk from cows
who are grass fed. Butter can also be cultured (fermented) and it is an excellent
and delicious way to get more probiotics into your diet. If you can, avoid
butter that is pasteurized for the same reasons we mentioned above in our
discussion on yogurt.
You may be able to purchase raw, cultured butter in some health food stores,
but most likely you are going to have to make it at home by using
Body Ecology's Culture Starter. If you have young children at home, they
love helping and seeing the raw cream change into butter.
Body Ecology Says: Organic, raw unpasturized cultured butter is an
excellent way to obtain some of the probiotics you need and it's also a great
source for conjugated
linoleic acid (CLA), a powerful anti-carcinogen and essential fatty
acid.
Miso - This fermented soy product from Japan is made of soy beans and
koji, a culture starter made of beneficial molds, yeasts and lactic acid bacteria.
Miso, unless it has been pasteurized, contains live beneficial microflora.
Body Ecology Says: Miso
is an excellent fermented food for stage
two of Body Ecology. Many people also do well on it in stage one. It is
an excellent antiviral.
Kombucha - Increasingly available in Whole Foods Market and other health
food stores, kombucha is a fermented tea. Whether thought of as a mushroom,
plant or Chinese tea, kombucha has long been valued in many cultures of the
world for its healing properties. It is fermented with a starter of yeast
and other microorganisms.
Body Ecology Says: We are still doing testing on Kombucha. Some
people have trouble with kombucha because they are sensitive to its airborne
yeast, which is different from beneficial strains of yeast used in other
probiotic drinks. Additionally, some kombucha teas can have too much sugar
and will make your blood more acidic, and elevate yeast and fungal infection.
Convenient Probiotic Drinks: With today's busy lifestyles, more people
are starting to demand on-the-go convenient probiotic drinks. Many new ones
are coming on the market. Look for products with a natural source of vitamins,
minerals, amino acids and enzymes, along with beneficial bacteria (like Lactobacillus
acidophilus and Lactobacillus delbreukii) and beneficial yeast (like Sacharomyces
boulardii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
 
We've researched the best probiotics to build your healthy inner ecosystem
and enhance your outer beauty. Try Dong
Quai and CocoBiotic,
your best bets for probiotic drinks that fit your on-the-go lifestyle.
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Body Ecology Says: Our dissatisfaction with the quality of healthy,
effective probiotic products on the market AND requests for convenient options
from our customers led us to creating our own line of probiotic liquids: Dong
Quai and CocoBiotic.
We also highly recommend and offer BE
Wholegrain Liquid and Liquid
Spirulina.
You can learn more about the health, weight loss and beauty benefits of all
of these probiotic liquids by reading: The
Many Healthy Uses of Probiotic Drinks You Likely Never Heard of -- and Recommended
Serving Sizes
Whether do-it-yourself or convenience-oriented, there are many ways to add
fermented foods to your diet. The best of these healthy foods and drinks
are so critical to your vitality, energy and longevity that they are worth
seeking out.
In fact, they may be your number one ally in your quest to age youthfully
and healthfully.
Source:
1 Hall, Sarah. Half of probiotic liquids fail bacteria health test. Guardian
Unlimited. August 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1839268,00.html
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