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Probiotic Yogurt

How Does Sustenex® Compare to Probiotic Yogurt?

What is Probiotic Yogurt?

Probiotic yogurt refers to any yogurt that contains live, active cultures. Therefore, since any yogurt, by definition, must contain live, active cultures, most yogurts available today can be classified as "probiotic yogurt." The bacteria (probiotics) contained in these yogurts are believed to help maintain digestive health, support the immune system and offer other benefits throughout the body.

Regular yogurt can become classified as a probiotic yogurt by one of two ways:

1. Allowing the starter cultures used to ferment milk into yogurt to continue to live in the finished product.
2. Adding extra cultures during processing to help support the yogurt's digestive health benefits. The most often added cultures are Lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus reuteri and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

Manufacturers of probiotic yogurt choose specific strains of beneficial bacteria that are more likely to survive digestion in order to arrive alive in the intestinal tract. However, some strains perform better than others. For example, Bacillus coagulans is the only strain of probiotic bacteria that has a natural occurring layer of organic material that protects the genetic core of the bacteria.

While probiotic yogurt has skyrocketed into a multi-billion industry in a relatively short time, precaution is necessary for large manufacturers that add other ingredients into their product. Some have high levels of sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar. Also, any specific health claims must be supported by clinical studies.

How Does Sustenex® Compare to Probiotic Yogurt?

While probiotic yogurt is considered a healthy food since it contains beneficial bacteria, many commercial yogurts are heat-treated or pasteurized, a process that kills the bacteria. Some of these yogurts add bacteria ("yogurt probiotics") afterwards, but these added cultures are not able to survive stomach acids to arrive in the intestinal tract - the intended target.

Sustenex® is different.

Sustenex® contains the probiotic bacteria BC30 (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086) which forms a protective shield around the delicate probiotic genetic core of the bacteria to help guard against stomach acids, enabling it to reach the intestinal tract. Many probiotic yogurts contain traditional probiotic strains, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are unable to form these protective shields, making them more vulnerable.

Benefits of Sustenex® over probiotic yogurt:

• Survivability - Sustenex® delivers live cells.**
• Reliability - Sustenex® requires no refrigeration.
• Convenience - Sustenex® is easy to take; just one caplet per day and you've taken one step toward maintaining digestive and immune health.*
• In a Consumer Reports study of a leading probiotic yogurt, only one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the probiotic bacteria survived in a lab test that simulated stomach acids.
• Zero calories and fat

4 Important Health Facts of Probiotic Yogurt

1. Live Cultures Can Help the Digestive and the Immune Systems

Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are the most commonly used cultures to make most yogurt in the United States. After production, many yogurts then add in one of many probiotic cultures, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. These bacteria strains have been shown to improve digestive health, help digestive lactose and bolster the immune system.

2. Good Source of Protein and Calcium

Four ounces of yogurt provides 12 percent of the recommended daily allowance of calcium, as well as 3.5g of protein.¹ Calcium is necessary for strong bones and yogurt is a very good source of it. For some lactose intolerant people, yogurt is a great choice due its ease of digestibility.

3. Don't Be Scared of Whole Milk Yogurt

Contrary to popular nutritional advice that calls for low-fat diets, research is emerging finding that milk fat has many health benefits. Look for non-homogenized yogurt with "cream on the top" for maximum health benefits (homogenized cream is harder to digest).

4. Avoid Sweetened and Sugar-Free Yogurt

To get the most health benefits, avoid yogurt with natural or artificial sweeteners, sugar, artificial color and other additives, or even "natural flavor." Instead, add chopped fruit, granola or vanilla extract to plain yogurt. Especially avoid yogurt with high fructose corn syrup.

Is Probiotic Yogurt Better Than Regular Yogurt?

Despite studies that suggest the trademarked bacteria included in probiotic yogurt help improve digestion, there is still a dispute among health and medical experts whether probiotic yogurt is more effective than regular yogurt. There haven't been many comparison studies between so-called probiotic types of yogurt and other kinds that also contain healthful bacteria.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of probiotic-enhanced products, with yogurts accounting for a vast majority of the market. For example, Dannon launched Activia, a probiotic yogurt that contains the trademarked bacteria Bifidus Regularis™ (Bifidobacterium animalis DN 173 010). While Dannon does support its health claims of Bifidus Regularis™ with published studies, other strains of Bifidus bacteria can be found in many yogurts.

There's no clear evidence that products labeled probiotic yogurt are necessarily better than regular yogurt.

It's also important to note that in some sweetened probiotic yogurts, high fructose corn syrup is one of the top ingredients. In contrast, regular, plain yogurt does not contain any sweeteners and can instead be complemented with fresh fruit.

If you're looking to add probiotics to your diet, a probiotic supplement like Sustenex® is probably the most effective and cost-efficient solution.

References

¹ http://www.livestrong.com/article/948-facts-health-benefits-yogurt/. Accessed July 8, 2010.