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As per my point of view Yoplait was able to emerge as leader in this category because Yogurt
was a basic food in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe before becoming popular in the
United States in the 1970s. There are several types of yogurt commercially available in the U.S.,
and all are manufactured by the same process. Cow's milk is heated to pasteurize it. After it has
cooled, active bacteria cultures are added. The yogurt thickens as it ferments, producing lactic
acid from the milk sugar, lactose.

While it is unclear when and where yogurt was developed, fermented dairy products were probably
consumed for thousands and thousands of years, ever since the beginning of the domestication of cows.
One of the first records of yogurt consumption comes from the Middle East during the times of the
Conqueror Genghis Khan in the 13th century, whose armies were sustained by this healthful food. Yogurt
and other fermented dairy products have long been a staple in the diets of cultures of the Middle East,
Asia, Russia and Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria. Yet, the recognition of yogurt's special
health benefits did not become apparent in Western Europe and North America until the 20th century, as a
result of research done by Dr. Elie Metchnikoff. Dr. Metchnikoff conducted research on the health
benefits of lactic acid-producing bacteria and postulated that the longevity of peoples of certain cultures,
such as the Bulgarians, was related to their high consumption of yogurt and fermented dairy products.

Today, yogurt plays an important role in many different world cuisines including Turkey,
Greece, India, and countries in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia

Yogurt isn't only a yummy snack that curbs the appetite; it's also beneficial to your body. Yogurt
contains vitamins like B12 and B6, as well as riboflavin, calcium, protein and active yogurt
cultures. Even if you're unable to digest milk, you can probably digest yogurt, due to the active
cultures it contains. These aid digestion and help break down lactose. Although it's best to eat
plain yogurt, you can add fresh fruit for a healthy snack. Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts usually
contain sugar and sometimes preservatives. It's healthier to cut up your own fruit to mix with
plain yogurt and add maple syrup for sweetener if absolutely necessary.



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Yogurt is a popular weight-loss tool in European countries, including France. Because yogurt is
high in calcium, fat and protein, it's a creamy indulgence that also has health benefits. Women
who use yogurt to diet usually eat between one and three yogurts a day to balance out the less
beneficial choices they have made throughout the day. Yogurt is especially healthy for women to
eat regularly because it's a good source of absorbent calcium.




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Yogurt comes in lots of flavors and varieties, the most popular addition to local grocery stores
being Greek yogurts like Fage and Chobani. Greek yogurt is much thicker than standard yogurt,
but the properties do not differ significantly. You can make your own Greek yogurt by
purchasing regular yogurt at the store and straining it with cheesecloth or very fine mesh. By
removing most of the water, you can obtain a much thicker, creamier yogurt. Greek yogurt is
mostly used in dessert recipes, but is fast becoming a more decadent alternative to plain yogurt.

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Yogurt is a natural remedy for yeast infections because of the helpful bacteria in and antibiotic
properties of the active cultures. If you are a female experiencing a yeast infection, coat a tampon
in plain, organic yogurt and put it in the freezer for an hour. Insert the tampon for about an hour
before removing. Repeat twice a day until the yeast infection is gone. Yogurt also prevents gas
and diarrhea in both pets and humans. If you are feeling nauseous, or your dog is having
problems making it outside, add a few teaspoons of yogurt to your next meal and Fido's. You'll
both be feeling better by bedtime.

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Eat two servings of yogurt per day to boost your immune system significantly. Because you will
be consuming the yogurt's active cultures, the cultures will be working hard in your body to fight
infections. Yogurt is also thought to kill germs in your mouth, so eat yogurt when you feel pain
from canker sores or toothaches. Because yogurt was originally used as a medical treatment, you
can use it in all kinds of ways to help fight germs in your body. You can even fight bacteria
externally by applying yogurt as a face mask for 20 minutes before bedtime. The active cultures
in the yogurt will kill any surface bacteria on your skin.


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Yogurt is a fermented dairy product made by adding bacterial cultures to milk, which causes the
transformation of the milk's sugar, lactose, into lactic acid. This process gives yogurt its
refreshingly tart flavor and unique pudding-like texture, a quality that is reflected in its original
Turkish name, Yoghurmak, which means "to thicken". The lactic acid bacteria that are
traditionally used to make yogurt-Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus-also
confer on yogurt many of its health benefits.

Yogurt is available in a variety of different flavors, although plain yogurt is the simplest, most
wholesome and versatile. Certain varieties of yogurts also feature a fruit mixture strewn
throughout.
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ülain yogurt has a slightly tangy taste. ülain yogurt is pasteurized a second time after
fermentation to kill bacteria. The Ohio State University Extension service reports that 6 oz. of
plain yogurt provides 35 percent of the recommended daily allowance of calcium, while 6 oz. of
plain Greek yogurt provides 20 percent RDA of calcium. The calories and sugar content go up
when manufacturers add fruit, sugar and flavors into plain yogurt.

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ürobiotic yogurt contains active cultures. In March 2010, Dr. Dan Merenstein of Georgetown
University Medical Center reported research that showed children who drank a probiotic yogurt
drink daily had fewer ear infections, flu and diarrhea. ürobiotics favorably alter intestinal
microflora balance and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, states the University of Michigan.

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Greek yogurt is made by straining plain yogurt, producing a thicker yogurt that is higher in
protein. Ohio State University Extension estimates that 6 oz. of Greek yogurt has 14 to 18 g
protein and 7 to 9 g sugars; while 6 oz. regular plain yogurt has10g protein and 12g sugars.

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ülain or Greek yogurt can be made from low-fat or skim milk, which lowers the fat content.
These yogurts have higher calcium and protein contents. To lower the calories in some flavored
low-fat yogurts, manufacturers add artificial sweeteners instead of sugar.

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The International Soybean ürogram at the University of Illinois developed a process for making
soy yogurt. Soy milk with added sugar and dextrose is pasteurized, and then cultures are added.
The USDA reports 6 oz. of soy yogurt has 185 calories, 7g protein, 2.4g sugar, 232mg calcium,
and 3.5g fat, making it lower in sugar than other types of yogurt.
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Our food ranking system qualified yogurt as a very good source of calcium, phosphorus,
riboflavin-vitamin B2 and iodine. Yogurt also emerged from our analysis as a good source of
vitamin B12, pantothenic acid-vitamin B5, zinc, potassium, protein and molybdenum. These 10
nutrients alone would make yogurt a health-supportive food. But some of the most interesting
health information about yogurt comes from a different context-its potential inclusion of live
bacteria.

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The highest quality yogurt in your grocery store contains a live bacterium that provides a host of
health benefits. Yogurt that contains live bacterial cultures may help you to live longer, and may
fortify your immune system. Research studies have shown that increased yogurt consumption,
particularly in immunocompromised populations such as the elderly, may enhance the immune
response, which would in turn increase resistance to immune-related diseases.

One research study tracked a population of 162 very elderly people for five years. The incidence
of death for those subjects who ate yogurt and milk more than three times per week was 38%
lower than the incidence of death those subjects who ate yogurt and other dairy foods less than
once a week. (Consuming citrus fruit twice a week and a lowered consumption of meat were also
associated with decreased incidence of death).

Eating yogurt may help to prevent vaginal yeast infections. In one study, women who had
frequent yeast infections ate 8 ounces of yogurt daily for 6 months. Researchers reported that a
threefold decrease in infections was seen in these women.

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Helicobater pylori the bacterium responsible for most ulcers, can be shut down by yogurt,
suggests a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this study, for six
weeks, 48 adult volunteers infected with H. pylori ate yogurt containing the probiotic bacteria
Lactobaciullus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis twice daily after a meal, while 11 others
received a milk placebo. After eight weeks, subjects were given the C-urea breath test, which
measures the amount of urease, an enzyme used by H.pylori to allow it to penetrate and infect
the stomach lining. In those receiving the yogurt containing probiotics, H.pylori activity was
effectively suppressed.

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Although we've focused on the benefits of low-fat yogurt, a study published in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that enjoying full-fat yogurt and other full-fat dairy foods,
such as whole milk, kefir, cheese, cream, sour cream and butter, may significantly reduce risk for
colorectal cancer.
Although high in saturated fat, these dairy foods contain a number of potentially cancer-
preventive factors, including a protective fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has
also been shown to be cardioprotective.

In this study, over 60,000 women aged 40-76 years were followed during an average of 14.8
years. Those women who ate at least 4 servings of high-fat dairy foods each day were found to
have a 41% lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to women eating less than a serving of
high-fat dairy foods daily.

For each increment of 2 servings of high-fat dairy foods a woman consumed each day, her risk of
colorectal cancer dropped 13%. So, while research continues to indicate that it is wise to limit
your intake of saturated fat by cutting back on servings of high-fat meats, enjoying full-fat
versions of yogurt and other dairy products may actually be protective.

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Consuming just 3.2 ounces (90 grams) of yogurt twice a day not only lowers levels of hydrogen
sulfide and other volatile sulfide compounds responsible for bad breath, but may also eliminate
tongue-coating bacteria and reduce dental plaque formation, cavities, and risk for gingivitis. The
sugar-free yogurt eaten by 24 volunteers in this 6-week study was fermented with two strains of
probiotic (friendly) bacteria: streptococci and lactobacilli.

Be careful when selecting yogurt and choose yogurts that contain live cultures-highest quality
prodcts will often indicate exactly how many live bacteria are contained in the product.
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermopholis are the lactic acid bacteria usually used
to make yogurt in the United States.

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In just 3 months, 16 obese men and women on a reduced calorie diet that included three daily
portions of yogurt lost 61% more fat and 81% more abdominal fat than 18 obese subjects
assigned to a diet with the same number of calories but little or no dairy products and low
amounts of calcium.

Not only did those in the yogurt group lose more fat, especially around their waistlines, but they
also retained more lean, muscle tissue than subjects on the yoghurt-free diet.

How yogurt promotes fat loss while preserving muscle is still a matter of debate. It may be due
to the fact that calcium reduces fat cells' ability to store fat, so cells burn more, and less is
produced in the liver. Or, it may be due to the branched chain amino acids present in dairy
products. Regardless, this study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, indicates that
adding one or two servings of yogurt to your daily diet can help you maximize loss of fat and
minimize loss of muscle-the optimal outcome for any diet.
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Daily consumption of 3 ounces (100 g) of probiotic yogurt (yogurt containing health-promoting

bacteria) significantly improved the cholesterol profile, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol while
raising HDL (good) cholesterol, in women volunteers.

In the women consuming probiotic yogurt, not only did levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol decrease
significantly, but their HDL (good) cholesterol substantially increased. Women consuming
conventional yogurt also experienced a significant drop in LDL cholesterol, although their HDL
did not rise.

The take-home message: adding a daily cup of yogurt-preferably a yogurt with probiotic
bacteria-to your healthy way of eating is an easy and delicious way to improve your cholesterol
profile.

Here are just a few ways to enjoy yogurt:

@Ê Top your daily cup of yogurt with a quarter-cup of granola, a handful of nuts, and some
frozen berries or dried fruit for a quick, delicious and sustaining breakfast.
@Ê Creamy yogurt, chives, and freshly ground sea salt and pepper make a great topping for
baked potatoes, yams or other cooked vegetables.
@Ê For a creamy salad dressing or vegetable dip, just mix a cup of yogurt with a quarter cup
of extra virgin olive oil and your favorite herbs and spices.

So, these are the reasons behind the yogurt that¶s why Yoplait was able to emerge as a leader
in this category