Live cultures in yogurt

[Inky]

Any nutritionists lurking about?

My morning cup of yougurt claims to have "live, active lactobacillia cultures".

My understanding is that this means theres real, live little transylvanian bacteria bopping around in there. Do these bugs only eat milk? Are they nibbling on the remnants of the gummy bears I ate last night? Why would live cultures be a better thing than pasturized yogurt?

Always curious,

Inkz

[BobT]

I would think that yogurt with live cultures in them would have a different flavor from those that don't.
Uncultured yogurt (besides not appreciating Van Gogh) would just be milk.
I wouldn't lose sleep over the bacteria. If you eat some cheeses, you get the same effect.

[Boris B]

You can make more yogurt out of old yogurt if the latter has live cultures in it. Just mix a fresh dairy product with the right amount of fat (can't remember which it is ... whole milk? lowfat?) in with some live yogurt, and, at the right temperature, eventually the whole thing will turn into yogurt.

Then you can store it in a yak skin, strap it to your bactrian camel, and have some preserved food for your trip to go pillage Europe.

[bill422]

Live cultures of lactobacilli are useful for helping treat yeast infections. Get the unflavored kind and douche with it. . .not that I have personal experience, but I used to have a girlfriend who taught me this little tidbit. Lactobacillus is a common bacteria of skin and "other" areas. It produces acid which I believe is what helps destroy the yeast (makes yogurt too).

[Inky]

Hmmm, fresh out of yakskin storage bags, but lord knows they might become the next fad here in California.

No, no. The bacteria eat the milk sugar and make lactic acid, which in turn curdles the milk (makes it solid), hence you get yogurt rather than just palin garden variety milk with bugs in it...

My question is why not pasturize it? Why send LIVE bacteria down my already polluted gullet? Is there some benifit to it? Or are they just too lazy to pasturize it, and simply put "Live nude girls" Oops! I mean "Live active cultures" on the label to make it sound like its a selling point?

And on a somewhat diferent subject, why do decent questions get ignored, while the "Cindy Brady / Porno" arguement rages on and on?

Inkz

[Inky]

I don't mean MY questions, by the way..

[cher3]

There is supposed to be some benefit. There are many potential types of bacteria populating our innards. The type of bacteria in yogurt is probably already there. The benefit is that these benign bacteria provide competition for any harmful types that might want to get a toehold in your guts, so to speak. That is supposedly why yogurt is good against yeast infections. It's also why some people recommend eating yogurt after a course of antibiotics, which can kill off the good with the bad.

However, I do seem to recall some controversy over how well active yogurt cultures actually survive the digestive process.

[C K Dexter Haven]

This was an item in Cecil's Mailbag: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/myogurt.html

... however, since the search engine didn't turn it up under either "yogurt" or "culture"
, I forgive you for not knowing it was there.

[BoBettie]

Live cultures of lactobacilli are useful for helping treat yeast infections. Get the unflavored kind and douche with it. .

I don't know about "douching with yogurt". I think the more common method is eating it. The cultures get in your system that way. I've never heard of anyone doing that, and I would be very wary about putting anything with sugar in my vagina. (check the ingredients- even unflavored yogurt frequently has sugar in it)
Holy infection, Batman!
Just my two cents.


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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/zettecity/index.html

[mangeorge]

"I don't know about "douching with yogurt".
---Zette
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Sure it works. Just get some nice guy to help with the application. (Ahem) :)
Peace,
mangeorge

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Work like you don't need the money.....
Love like you've never been hurt.....
Dance like nobody's watching! ....(Paraphrased)

[Cabbage]

I'm with Inky on this one. I mean, who's to say that, after I've eaten some yogurt, it might decide to start eating me from the INSIDE, like in that movie The Stuff.

Then again, if it eats you, that might be a plus in douching with it.

(Sorry)

[BoBettie]

Mangeorge...I'll check with my husband and let you know....I'm guessing he'll be game. Thanks for the tip ;)

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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/zettecity/index.html