12 Amazing Benefits You Can Get from Yogurt

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1. Gives the energy you need and more

Aside from the energy provided by the carbohydrates, yogurt contains B vitamins which work great if you need a little pick-me-up.

2. Weight Loss

I list this as the last item, but to many this may be the most important. Yogurt helps build muscle (as stated in the last point), which helps burn fat. It is also, as I stated before, a great source of energy to fuel workouts you may be performing to lose weight. Lastly, yogurt contains a fair amount of protein that helps you stay fuller longer.

3. Helps avoid Yeast Infections

Ladies, you might want to consider yogurt the next time you are given a prescription for antibiotics (using antibiotics usually raises the chances of yeast infections). Yogurt’s active cultures can help balance pH levels and prevent the painfully uncomfortable yeast infection from starting.

 4. May prevent High blood pressure

Every day 70 percent of us consume more than twice the recommended amount of salt; over time that can lead to hypertension and kidney and heart disease. The potassium in yogurt, almost 600 milligrams per eight ounces, may help flush some of the excess sodium out of your body. In fact, adults in a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition who ate the most low-fat dairy — two or more servings daily — were 54 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who ate the least.

5. Alleviate allergy symptoms

It can be challenging to do anything outdoors for those of us with seasonal allergies, so you might consider eating a cup of yogurt. The probiotics in yogurt may decrease your body’s reaction to pollen and other allergens.

6.  Helps improve teeth

I know I am not alone in drinking copious amounts of coffee each day. While this habit keeps me awake, it does terrible things for my teeth. It seems that yogurt, although containing sugar, has no harmful effect on enamel. The lactic acid is thought to even have a positive effect in protecting gums and teeth from future damage.

7.  Pre and Post Workout snack 

The carbohydrates in yogurt can either help to fuel you through your workout or replace energy that is lost. The potassium and sodium can also help to replace those electrolytes you sweat out.

8. Decreases the chance of Osteoporosis

Dairy in general is a great resource for building up healthy bones as it contains calcium. Look for yogurts with added vitamin D for a better bang for your buck. 

9. Digestive Aid

Let the creamy stuff ease your tummy troubles: The probiotics (beneficial bacteria) in some yogurts balance the microflora in your gut, which can aid with digestion as well as keep you regular, says Robin Plotkin, RD, a culinary and nutrition expert.  
To reap the benefits, make sure your favorite yogurt contains at least one billion colony-forming units (CFUs) of live cultures. Most brands list this info on their websites. 

10.  May prevent the common cold

Sure, the common cold will always be there, but you could help to prevent it. One of the many benefits of yogurt is that it has immune boosting effects. Yogurt has been shown to make your T-cells, or cells that fight infection, stronger and more active. 

11. May help in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Additional studies have found benefits with supplementation of mixtures of several probiotics in inducing remission and preventing relapse of pouchitis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.  Some practitioners now believe that the evidence is strong enough to prescribe certain probiotics for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease as an alternative to current drug treatments. However most feel that further investigations are required to determine the full therapeutic potential of probiotics before changes are made to current treatment procedures.

12. Helps in Diarrhea

The treatment of diarrhea with probiotics has traditionally been one of the main application areas for probiotics.  The best documented evidence exists for shortening the duration of a form of diarrhea in children known as “rotavirus diarrhoea” by selected probiotic strains.