Yogurt's Top Ten - Wholesome Food for Every Body

Yogurt is one of my regular healthy snack.

What does it do? From AboutYogurt.Com (http://www.aboutyogurt.com/healthUpdate/topTen.asp) here are the Top Ten Benefits:

1. May Help Reduce Osteoporosis Risk
   As an excellent source of calcium, yogurt, eaten regularly, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis, the thinning and loss of bone mass that affects 25 million Americans as they age. Yogurt is an excellent dairy food choice for women who limit their intake of milk and cheese, and has many advantages over supplements.
2. Lactose Intolerant? Yogurt May Help
   Studies have shown that the live and active cultures present in yogurt permit yogurt to be eaten by many of the more than one quarter of American adults who ordinarily experience lactose intolerance with other dairy products. Some of the symptoms of lactose intolerance include abdominal cramping, bloating and diarrhea.
3. Immune Boon
   Ongoing studies have shown live and active culture yogurt may enhance the immune systems of certain individuals.¹
4. Versatile and Convenient
   Keep yogurt stocked in your refrigerator to use as a substitute for mayonnaise and sour cream in tuna and other salads; top waffles or pancakes with fruit yogurt; make desserts more healthful by choosing frozen yogurt. Perfect for today's busy schedules, nothing is as convenient to carry with you on a hike or put in a lunch bag as yogurt. For the commuter, it's the perfect portable protein boost.²
5. Combats Yeast Infections
   Vaginal yeast infections affect nearly 12 million women each year. Research suggests that regularly eating yogurt containing L. acidophilus may decrease yeast growth and infection in certain individuals.³
6. Colon Protection
   Preliminary studies show increasing one's dietary intake of lowfat, calcium-rich dairy products such as yogurt may reduce the risk of colon cancer.⁴
7. Calcium-Rich
   It's a fact: calcium is an essential nutrient, and yogurt is an excellent source of calcium. An average eight-ounce serving of live and active culture yogurt contains approximately 30 % of the Daily Recommended Value for calcium.⁵
8. Protein-Dense
   An average eight-ounce serving of live and active culture yogurt contains approximately 20 % of the Daily Value for protein. So protein-dense, yogurt is now considered a meat alternate by the United States Department of Agriculture in its school meals programs.⁶
9. Taste Kids & Parents Love
   Yogurt is one food that gets the "thumbs up" from both parents and kids. It's a calcium-rich food that will help kids grow and start them on the road to good bone health in later life.
10. Variety
    With nearly 50 different flavors and a wide variety of textures or "styles," there's a yogurt for everyone. Choose from fruit-blended or fruit on the bottom yogurts, yogurts with toppings and add-ins, or light versions of yogurt sweetened with aspartame. Try frozen yogurt or yogurts with cereal and novelty toppings for kids.

¹ C.M. Kotz et. al., J. Dairy Sci. 1994 Dec: 77 [12]; 3538-44
² Simin Nikbin Meydani, Ph.D., Am. Jour. of Nutrition 2000; 71:861-72
³ E. Hilton et. al., Ann. Intern. Med. 1992 March 1: 116 [5] 353-7
⁴ R.K Peters; Cancer Causes Control 1992 Sept.; 3[5] 457-73
⁵ Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
⁶ Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture