Dr. Oz and TheDoctorsTV: The Culture of Yogurt, Kefir, and the Sweet Wannabees
The doctors are always slathering yogurt on people’s faces, hands, and other parts of their bodies to prevent wrinkles, embellish the texture of the skin, and reverse the signs of aging. But not all yogurts are the same when it comes to the properties inside the container and your health.
In case you don’t watch any TV commercials, there are hundreds of ads for Activia and Yoplait on the tube daily. They hint that yogurt will support your digestive system, but they keep telling you how sweet and good-tasting their brand happens to be now. How many artificial flavors can a company throw into a container of yogurt to make people think that they are eating a dessert, instead of a health food? If it’s not cheesecake, it’s cobbler with some reference to a familiar fruit!
Yogurt is tart, tangy, and it’s supposed to be this way. It goes against the grain to try to sweeten yogurt until it is unrecognizable…
Activia is now competing with Yoplait to try to convince consumers that the taste is good. But the weird thing is this: the smart consumer knows that this is a stupid ploy! The artificial sweeteners defeat the purpose and the health benefits of consuming yogurt.
If we want to add some blueberries or strawberries or bananas to our yogurt…we will. We don’t want artificial flavors in our real yogurt. It makes us suspicious that you don’t KNOW yogurt at all. You are only trying to cater to the average consumer’s desire for something to taste sweet to sell. It begs the question about the viability of the cultures that are used in these commercial brands… We wonder about these two in particular.
Those of us who have appreciated the nutritional and health value of yogurt for the last couple of hundred years want the real deal, not some sweetened substitute that tastes like it is going to feed the yeasties. In fact, I would wager that the sweeteners used in these commercial yogurts are converted into carbohydrates that the candida and other beasties to replicate in the digestive system. This is diametrically opposed to the original intent of including yogurt and kefir in one’s diet on a regular basis. These health foods control the overgrowth of yeast. How stupid does that make the commercial sweet treat yogurts look?
Yogurt is SO easy to make yourself. If you’ve never tried it, you might want to take a shot. It really makes itself after you give it a good start with an active culture. It’s the culture that gives yogurt and kefir such a great reputation, not the sweetness quotient!
If you have a sensitivity to milk; then there are some real companies that know their yogurt which are making the cultures in a base of soy or coconut milk. They taste just fine…tart and refreshing!
Kefir is more like a thick shake than a pudding. It’s still more popular in its country of origin than here in the states, but once you begin to enjoy kefir, you will be a regular who imbibes. But yet again…it’s the live culture that makes the drink.
Today on the repeat of Dr. Oz, he had a mocktail cocktail drink called the Red Tornado. It is a good recipe for a jazzy cocktail which is both healthy and colorful. While you would have to drink a daily whirlwind to get the health benefits that Dr. Oz suggested from such a small quantity of these juices and herbs; the cumulative effect is worth the time it takes the make the shake. You know that you MUST use fresh basil…right!
Dr. Oz and the Recipe for the Red Tornado mocktail
The doctors suggested that yogurt be used for bloating when PMS troubles a person. The consumption of other beverages, the type of water you drink, the amount of salt you consume, and the quality of the fresh fruit you eat that contain enzymes also play a role in the reduction of bloating. Food combination need to be taken into consideration, yet yogurt, kefir, and miso soup will help along with pineapple and papaya which you can add to the mocktail recipes.
Get your real yogurt from a Whole Foods Market or a Farmer’s Market in your local community. You can also make your own yogurt with a live culture and a little time with patience. But don’t fall for the artificially-flavored or sweetened yogurts on the shelves. Leave them there for fools…
