1. Feeling stuffed? Have a yogurt to aid digestion. In the eyes of many, "aiding digestion" is one of the most important health functions of yogurt, so it's the first choice when feeling full. In fact, yogurt helps promote gastrointestinal motility and the secretion of digestive fluids, and drinking it regularly can indeed help improve digestion. However, it is not recommended to drink yogurt after you are already full, because yogurt itself is a very filling food, and drinking it after a meal can intensify the feeling of fullness, which is not conducive to digestion. Moreover, yogurt also contains a certain amount of calories; drinking it after a meal means consuming these extra calories, which can lead to weight gain over the long term. In fact, there is no specific time limit for drinking yogurt; it can be consumed between meals or before a meal.
2. Yogurt is less effective than milk for calcium supplementation. When it comes to calcium supplementation, most people think of milk, not yogurt. In fact, an equal amount of yogurt contains slightly more calcium than milk. During the fermentation process, lactic acid bacteria break down the lactose in milk into lactic acid, reducing the lactose content but retaining other nutrients in the milk, so yogurt still has a calcium-supplementing effect. In addition, the absorption rate of calcium in yogurt is not lower than, and may even be higher than, that in milk, because lactic acid and peptide substances from protein decomposition can both promote calcium absorption.
3. Diabetics cannot drink yogurt. Compared to milk, yogurt has a higher sugar content, so it is considered a "forbidden food" by many diabetics. In fact, although sugar is added to yogurt, it does not raise blood sugar quickly. The lactic acid in yogurt can delay gastric emptying, helping to control postprandial blood sugar. Furthermore, yogurt is rich in calcium, and calcium helps the normal release of insulin, thereby helping to balance blood sugar. Therefore, diabetics can drink one cup of yogurt (about 125g) daily. If they are concerned about their blood sugar, they can choose low-sugar yogurt.
4. The more sour the yogurt, the more nutritious it is. Many people wonder if, since it's called yogurt, the sourer it is, the more nutritious it must be. The sourness of yogurt comes from lactic acid produced by lactic acid bacteria metabolizing lactose, which is related to factors such as the strain of the starter culture and fermentation time. Among the Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which must be used to make yogurt, if the bacilli are dominant, the acidity will be very strong, but this does not mean the yogurt is of better quality. Moreover, the acidity of yogurt is also limited. If the yogurt is removed from the cold chain during storage and logistics, such as being left at room temperature or in an outdoor environment, the lactic acid bacteria will multiply rapidly, causing the acidity of the yogurt to increase beyond an acceptable range. Such yogurt will taste very sour, the vitality of the lactic acid bacteria will decrease, the degree of denaturation of milk protein will increase, which is not good for human absorption and is also detrimental to gastrointestinal health.
5. The thickeners in yogurt will cause "thick blood". There are many types of thickeners in yogurt, including pectin, agar, and edible gelatin. They cannot be digested or absorbed by the human body and belong to insoluble dietary fiber. They are not only non-toxic and harmless, but they will not cause "thick blood"; on the contrary, they are beneficial for slowing the rise of postprandial blood glucose and blood lipids, and are therefore beneficial components for preventing chronic diseases. The safety of thickeners is generally very high, so there are often no restrictions on their usage in many foods, and the amount used in yogurt also complies with relevant national standards.
6. Room-temperature yogurt has little nutritional value. Compared to low-temperature yogurt ("live-culture yogurt"), room-temperature yogurt ("sterilized yogurt") undergoes a second heat treatment after being fermented by lactic acid bacteria, which kills the live lactic acid bacteria in the yogurt. Therefore, it can be sold and stored at room temperature. From a nutritional perspective, the biggest difference between low-temperature and room-temperature yogurt is whether they contain "live lactic acid bacteria"; the other nutritional components are largely the same. If you want to benefit from lactic acid bacteria, it is recommended to choose low-temperature yogurt. If live bacteria are not necessary, room-temperature yogurt has its market advantages. Because even without lactic acid bacteria, the protein, calcium, and vitamins in yogurt are still present, so for those who cannot refrigerate it for various reasons or find it inconvenient to buy yogurt (such as students or people traveling), room-temperature yogurt is a better choice. By the same logic, if you cannot tolerate cold drinks, you can also heat the yogurt before drinking it.