Yogurt has power-boosting protein and bone-building calcium. It can also help you lose weight and fend off a cold…
Yogurt can give you flat abs.
Eat 18 ounces a day and you can drop a jeans size. People who ate that much – in conjunction with cutting their total calories – lost 22% more weight and 81% more belly fat than dieters who skipped the snack, according to research from the University of Tennessee, Knoxvile. They also retained one-third more calorie-torching lean muscle mass, which can help you maintain weight loss. “Fat around your waist produces the hormone cortisol, which tells your body to accumulate even more belly flab,” says nutrition professor and lead study author Michael Zemel, PhD. When you eat yogurt, the calcium signals your fat cells to pump out less cortisol, making it easier for you to drop pounds, while the amino acids help burn fat.
Yogurt contains good-for-you bacteria.
Yogurt has probiotics (live and active cultures) that help crowd out harmful microorganisms that can cause intestinal infections, and helps to regulate your digestion and strengthen your immune system.
Yogurt is loaded with vitamins.
One serving is a significant source of potassium, phosphorous, riboflavin, iodine, zinc, and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). Yogurt also contains B12, which maintains red blood cells and helps keep your nervous system functioning properly.
Yogurt 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.
A daily serving of yogurt keeps colds away.
Dig into four ounces each day and you may find yourself sniffle-free in the months ahead, according to a study at the University of Vienna. People eating this amount had much stronger and more active T cells, which battle illness and infection, than they did before they started consuming it. “The healthy bacteria in yogurt help send signals to the immune-boosting cells in your body to power up and fight off harmful bugs,” says lead study author Alexa Meyer, PhD, a nutrition researcher at the university. Allergy sufferers, who typically have low levels of certain T cells, may also find relief by adding yogurt to their diets. In a study in the Journal of Nutrition, people who ate seven ounces a day had fewer symptoms than those who opted for none at all.
Each 1/2 cup serving contains:
Calories: @ 120
Fat: All Flavors except French Vanilla have 0 grams (French Vanilla 3g)
Protein: 3 grams
Carbs: 19g (French Vanilla), 27g (All Others)
Sugar: 12g (French Vanilla), 17g (All Others)
Calcium: 6% to 8% of daily value