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Properties of Yogurt

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Yogurt makes a healthy breakfast food.

Yogurt is one of the first processed foods in human history. It likely developed in Central Asia during the Stone Age when the warm weather and method of storing milk in goat skins created the right environment for lactic acid bacteria to ferment milk. Since ancient times, yogurt has continued to be widely consumed, partly due to its reputation as a health and anti-aging food. In the present day, it has morphed into a variety of forms, from blended fruit yogurt to dessert yogurts to yogurt drinks. Does this Spark an idea?

  1. Physical Properties

    • Yogurt is a soft solid food, produced in two primary ways: set and stirred. With set yogurt -- which includes yogurt containers with fruit on the bottom -- the milk mixture used to produce yogurt is poured into the manufacturing pot and left to ferment with no further interference. With stirred yogurt, the milk mixture is stirred and often pumped through a screen to create a creamy texture. Age and the kind of fruit used to manufacture yogurt can significantly influence its taste. A 2003 study in the "Yuzuncu Yil University Journal of Agricultural Sciences" found that longer storage times decreased stirred yogurt's pH, which made it less flavorful because of the increased acidic taste and alcohol smell. A panel testing the yogurt samples also found that yogurt made with morello cherry or grape molasses was more flavorful than other fruit mixtures.

    Nutritional Properties

    • An 8 oz. serving of yogurt contains 450 mg of calcium, which provides 30 to 40 percent of an adult's daily calcium requirement and 50 percent of a child's. It also contains 10 to 15 g of protein, providing about 20 percent of the protein most people need daily. When yogurt contains live, active cultures, people can digest the calcium and protein more easily, resulting in a higher absorption rate. Yogurt also contains important micronutrients, such as B vitamins, potassium, zinc and selenium.

    Healing Properties

    • Yogurt that contains live, active cultures boosts the immune system. A 2010 study in the "Journal of Clinical Gastroenterolgy" found that yogurt containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus improved the immune function in people living with HIV/AIDS. The good bacteria in yogurt helps heal the intestines after an infection, and pediatricians often suggest yogurt as a healing food for children suffering from problems with indigestion and diarrhea. Women who eat at least four cups of yogurt a week experience fewer bladder and vaginal infections. Douching with 10 ml of lactobacillus-concentrated yogurt for a week can even eliminate the symptoms of the vaginal infection, bacterial vaginosis.

    Anti-Aging Properties

    • Plain organic yogurt, when used as a facial peel, can make a person look younger by removing dead skin cells, lightening spots and evening out skin tones. Regularly eating yogurt may also prevent cancer. A 2008 study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" reports that men and women who ate more than two servings a day of cultured milk products -- which includes yogurt -- had a 38 percent lower risk of bladder cancer than those who ate no cultured milk products. The lactic acid bacteria in yogurt appears to affect the immune system in a way that suppresses tumor growth.

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