How much yogurt do I have to eat to improve my digestion?

Virtually everyone would benefit from eating yogurt at least once or twice a week. Registered dietitian Samantha Heller, RD, explains how yogurt benefits the body and helps improve digestive health.

Transcript

00:00

You could have an antibiotic that helps us kill the bad bacteria. But a probiotic are the bacteria that we want to have in our gut.

00:07

[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:13

Now, yogurt is a really healthy food. And it's been around for hundreds of years.

00:20

And we know that the live active cultures in yogurt-- this is regular yogurt, not frozen yogurt, we're talking about-- are actually very good for your gut.

00:28

There's thousands and thousands of healthy bacteria that live in your gastrointestinal tract. And these bacteria are a huge part of your immune system.

00:37

So eating and recolonizing your gastrointestinal tract with things like yogurt is really good for you.

00:44

How much you should eat, well, that depends on your weight, whether you're trying to lose weight, your age.

00:50

So if you're going to have some yogurt with live active cultures, maybe once a day, a cup a day, maybe a few times a week.

00:57

It's fine as long as you're eating an overall healthy diet. And that's what's important to know is to keep your gut healthy, you want those healthy foods

01:05

every day-- the fruits, the vegetables, the whole grains, and the lower nonfat dairy, like the yogurt. Have you ever heard of a probiotic?

01:13

Well, a probiotic is that healthy bacteria that live in your gastrointestinal tract and keep your immune system strong.

01:21

And the probiotic is actually a kind of bacteria, a good bacteria. You could have an antibiotic that helps us kill the bad bacteria.

01:28

But a probiotic are the bacteria that we want to have in our gut. And it's found in fermented foods like yogurt.

01:35

There's live active cultures in yogurt. And certainly the supplement industry that sells probiotics is a huge booming industry in this country.

01:42

There are many, many kinds of probiotics. And research shows that some of them help with things like antibiotic-induced diarrhea

01:51

or other diarrheal diseases that children and adults may have that can really help reduce those symptoms

01:57

and help you heal. In terms of your daily life with probiotics, the research is still ongoing in terms of how much you need

02:05

and where to get it. But if you want to have some nonfat yogurt every day or a few times a week, there's just nothing wrong with that.