Yogurt Lies

[Tara]

Yogurt Lies

Today's Pakistani Star (December 4, 2005) reports a yogurt-industry-financed study in which researchers conclude that consuming yogurt lowers bad breath. The study is so significantly flawed as to be comical. See: <http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=126719>

I am often asked:

"What about the benefits of yogurt? Isn't the acidophilus added to yogurt good for you? Don't Hunzas who eat lots of yogurt outlive every other society?"

The truth is that the acidophilus bacterium added to yogurt is not absorbed by the human body. It doesn't work. It's simply an unethical marketing tool used by dairy producers on a trusting public. The Dannon Yogurt company scientists admit this truth but Dannon executives continue to lie to the public.

During the 1950's, teams of researchers "discovered that Hunzas regularly ate yogurt and seemed healthy. The Pakistani Muslim Hunzas living in one of the most isolated areas of the world craved the new found attention. One year after all of the excitement of discovery, a group of 60 year old Hunzas mysteriously became 75. The next year, they were 90. A few years later, they were over the age of 100. The Hunza myth (Dannon's lie) has been exposed in great detail in a book by Wilcox, Wilcox,& Suzuki, called "The Okinawa Plan."

Why would one small region of Pakistan, a nation roughly the size of California, have the average person living past age 100, while the average expected age of a Pakistani at death is 64.

The Hunzas are not a small tribe living in a remote mountain village with 12 goats and a few sheep, as Americans have been led to believe. The mountainous Hunza region of Northern Pakistan comprises a land mass greater than the combined areas of Delaware and Rhode Island.

Why would the Pakistanis of Hunza be any different from those living in Murree, Quetta, Ziarat, Swat, Kaghan, Chitral, or Gilgit? The truth of the matter is that the people of Hynza are no different. Pakistanis including the Hunzas) eat similar diets and drink similar water. The answer to this mystery perpetrated by Dannon is that the Hunza myth was invented, and it is pure fraud.

The Dannon Yogurt research foundation publishes a newsletter extolling the virtues of their product. Here are excerpts from a column written by Cathy J. Saloff-Coste:

Lactobacillus Acidophilus

In the mid-1980's acidophilus was first suggested to have health benefits for humans (1,2). Acidophilus occurs naturally in the gastrointestinal tract but tends to grow slowly when added to milk (yogurt), leading to the risk of undesirable organisms. There is no direct proof and no consensus among researchers on whether or not added acidophilus in yogurt adheres to or colonizes in the intestines (3). Few human studies have been performed. A recent study reported that yogurt did not alter immunoglobulin secretions. These results show no health benefits from yogurt consumption. (4)

1. Jones, et al,(1985) Effect of acidophilus yogurt on serum cholesterol, triglyceride and lipoprotein levels of healthy males. J. Dairy Sci. 68 (Suppl. 1 83-84

2. Nelson, et al, (1984) Cholesterol uptake by lactobacillus acidophilus, J. Dairy Sci. 67 (Suppl. 1), 50

3. Saavedra, et al, (1995) Microbes to fight microbes, J. Pediatric Gastroenterol. 21, 125-129

4. Marteau, et al, (1996) Effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus strain LA1 on serum concentration and jejunal secretions of immunoglobulins and serum proteins in healthy humans. In SOMED 21st Intl. Congress on microbial ecology and disease, Paris, October 28-30, 1996.

Thank you, Dannon!

So...let's set the record straight. What exactly is yogurt? It's a delicious snack consisting of jelly, starch, and flavorings with naturally occurring pus, hormones, and glue. Marketing geniuses have convinced consumers with a series of clever lies that this high calorie food is a healthy dietary option. It is delicious, just as ice cream is delicious. Healthy? You can bet your life that it is not.

Robert Cohen
notmilk.com

[barbara]

hi tara ...............

oh my god !!! so much about yogurt !!!

i am a chronic addict to the yogurt.

but, after reading u r msg, im a getting a nauseating feeling,

without curd i can't live, what should i do now ?

[Health Dr. 1]

It is very important to note that much of the commercial yogurt probably provides very little viable bacterial cultures; the same is probably not true about traditional yogurt which is fermented at home, especially if raw, organic milk is used. Incidentally, the consumption of yogurt is not the only potential explanation for any health benefits that may have been demonstrated by the Hunza and other people groups. Regardless, most commercial yogurt is laden with sugar, additives, antibiotics, hormones, pus, and white blood cells; in short, it contains remnants of what the animal was exposed to, substances added by the manufacturer, and by-products from the modern milking industry. Commercial yogurt, in general, is probably not the healthiest of foods. Please do not confuse this with the benefits of numerous documented strains of probiotic, or good bacteria. There are various strains of Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Bacilli and others that have shown much clinical benefit.

[myhealth]

this article is definitely and eye opener, thank you for it. we tend to use yogurt in many dishes and eat them as well. never knew these details about yogurt, now i am having an inward battle about yogurt and what to do next with it