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Yogurt may already have a place in the back of your refrigerator, but did you know that it is a Diabetes Healing Superfood? Protein-rich plain yogurt stabilizes blood sugar, soothes inflammation and reduces stress on the immune system — all great excuses to move natural yogurt to the front of the fridge and increase consumption of this rich, creamy food.
1. Yogurt stabilizes blood sugar. Yogurt is high in protein, which slows digestion and calms the flow of glucose into the blood stream. Yogurt is a cultured dairy food, meaning that live organisms are introduced into the milk to create yogurt. Friendly bacteria, such as acidophilus, predigest the lactose (milk sugar), bypassing the glucose-insulin cycle and making yogurt’s nutritional benefits easily assimilable.
2. Yogurt strengthens the immune system. The friendly bacteria in yogurt (also known as probiotics) keep excess sugar in check by exponentially boosting the numbers of beneficial bacteria that live in your GI tract. Beneficial bacteria are essential to good digestion and wellness. They help your body fight off harmful bacteria like e coli and salmonella, which, in these days of mass-produced food production, sneak in through unhygienic food operations and make you ill. Beneficial bacteria are also essential following a course of antibiotics, which wipe out all the friendly bacteria in your gut, along with the bad guys.
A study from the University of Vienna, Austria, reported in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism backed up yogurt’s important role in immune system function. Participants eating yogurt on a daily basis substantially increased the numbers of infection-fighting white blood cells in their bodies.
4. Which type of yogurt is best? Choose plain, unsweetened yogurt from happy, organically raised, grass-fed cows or goats. Organic soy yogurt is also a good choice. Avoid like the plague any yogurt that has added sugar, fake sugar, cookies, chemicals or unpronounceable additives. You want the live yogurt cultures of ancient healing traditions, not sugary, dead impostors. Your local health food store should have a good selection of plain, unsweetened yogurts (including traditional strained Greek yogurt, which is extra thick and delicious) or you can make your own and save a bundle.
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Hi,
Do I incorporate yogurt into my already-daily dose of probiotic supplement capsules? If so, do I adjust my probiotic schedule/dosage?
Terry
Terry,
Here is a response to your question by Dr. Stefan Ripich:
“Years ago, when I first got interested in healthy living as a young person, there used to be these refrigerators in squeaky floored health food stores that were full of probiotics. At that time we were amazed that there could be 2 million live organisms in the probiotic supplements. The number seemed staggering, although we weren’t sure that the organisms would survive our stomach acids. Times have changed. The supplement market is highly competitive and the manufacturers of probiotics now measure in billions – sometimes even in trillions, and sub-divide their organisms into every subspecies imaginable – not to mention that my favorite manufacturers assure that the organisms get through the stomach into the gut.
Here’s the problem. I am starting to see an overgrowth of healthy organisms. I recommend that my patients do two things: first, take the probiotics for the first ten days of the month then lay off, second, take good probiotic with FOS (fructo – oligo- saccharides) in the same pill. That way, patients can inoculate their guts AND provide the basic food for the probiotic organisms They plant the seeds, and give them food to grow. It’s probably a controversial prescription as far as probiotic manufacturers are concerned, but I stand by it.
So there are lots of good reasons to include yogurt in your diet. For example, it’s a good way to include dietary calcium without as many worries about lactose intolerance. But in terms of beefing up your probiotic intake, well, it’s probably not necessary.
One last thing. There are two schools of thought regarding probiotics and antibiotics. The first school says “Of course you’d NEVER leave your patient unprotected so of course you’d advise probiotics during the course and antibiotics.”. The second school – the one I belong to – says “Look, the patient is already burdened with the toxic residue of rotting bacteria that you have killed with the antibiotic, why would you burden them with the probiotic die-off too?”. I have to agree. The most popular antibiotic seems to be the Z-Pack (Azithromycin). It’s so popular because of two factors – first, it kills everything. Second, it has a really long half-life so it stays in your blood for a full week after the last dose. So it makes no sense to me to be shoveling down probiotics which are killed as fast as you give them. I advise patients to recover their gut flora with probiotics, but only a full week after finishing the last pill.”
Dr. Stefan Ripich
Hi! I am new here and just read about yogurt and i hope it will help because i am diabetic, i dont like yogurt but i will add this in my diet everyday, thank you for the great info.I will recommend this to friends i know who are also diabetic…here in the middle east yogurt is free whenever you order or eat with most of the arabian restaurants but since i am one who dont feel like eating yogurt i just discard it or most of the time it will just expire inside our ref not knowing that it has a lot of good things that will benefit diabetic people like me…thank you again!
I eat yogurt and is homemade from a culture found in any Yogurt in the market and ferment it in previously boiled milk and at 37-40 degrees Celcius let it ferment for 12 to 16 hrs .
I do not the result in body except for thr nutritional values and help it doen in the intestine
I make my own Greek yogurt and find it tastes much better than the regular.I sometime add berries from my garden.
What are some brands of yogurt without sugar? All I can find are sugared. Will you please post a recipe for making yogurt? Thanks.
Phyllis
Hi, I am new also. I use kefir. is it a good pick or not? thanks for your comments.
Millicent
Hi, Millicent. Yes, kefir is a fermented, yogurt-based drink that we recommend. When shopping, be careful of flavored and sweetened kefir drinks. These are very high in calories and many are pasteurized, which destroys the beneficial bacteria. JH
“Choose plain, unsweetened yogurt from happy, organically raised, grass-fed beef or goats.”
How do we know if beef are grass fed?
Wonderful information for everybody.Yogurt is good for longevity also,it should be part of our diet.They say avoid the yogurt in the evening hrs.Produce carbon dioxide,which interferes with metabolism.
Hi, James…
Most labels will identify how the animals were raised, but you can’t trust labels 100% because there are some wiggle words that producers use. I personally like Stoneyfield Farm’s reputation (www.stoneyfield.com). For local grass-fed beef products in your area, go to http://www.eatwild.com (a website I trust). It will direct you to a list of approved growers near you. Ultimately, there’s no substitute for going directly to the farm and investigating how their products are raised. Most reputable farmers welcome your curiosity and interest (and business!) JH
Hi Jim
Starting the first 10 days but confused as to how you get 10 days worth of food with no rice, bread or whole grains. Pretty much leaves oatmeal, eggs……… for breakfast Is dairy ok–half and half has no sugar? How abbout light soy milk–3-4 oz? Cottage cheese ok the first ten days? What else would be acceptable for lunch and dinner without potatoes, rice, beans, whole grains. Just seems like i owould have a hard time findign food! I’m not overweight 6’1″ and 180 but cholesterol and triglycerides are high–BP ok but have been told I’m pre-diabetic so want to address it
Thank you
Hugh
As my work travel requires me to be on one of the two most popular anti-malaria antibiotics for long periods of time including 21 days after I return home what’s the recommendation for me as far as probies and healthy and//or home made yogurts ?
This report recomends adding a soy yogurt to your diet as a healthy option but to the writer, I think you should Know that contrary to popular belief, soy is not a health food. It is in fact very bad for humans. It unfortunatly is being added into much of our food without us even knowing. Try to find a product without some type of soy additive and you will be exausted in the grocery store. Soy mimics estrogen in our bodys and can cause a variety of health problems and is one of the leading causes of girls going through puberty at the average age of 7 and a half now. Soy has a toxicity to it that is hard to remove when processed. It is costly and most companys do not take the extra step to make the soy safe for human consumption. Soy products make men grow breasts amongst other health problems. Please everybody research the truth about soy and keep it far away from your diet. The soy growers and manufacturers are saturating the American market with soy in everything from cosmetics to candles to our food supply and we are being bombarded with the harmful affects of soy from every angle. Its as bad as fluoride in our drinking water and I hope somebody does something about this before we are all fooled into bad health with this fake healthfood!
please avoid the soy milk and any other soy product. Please read my comment below about the toxicity of soy and how it is very unhealthy for human consumption.
I have been using yogurt for a very long time. I started due to diverticulitis and then one year after that I was diagnosed with diabetes. Many years later I am still eating yogurt. I use the non fat plain Greek yogurt. I buy it due to the amount I use and the limits I now have due to health. I have found many uses for it including making my own “pudding” out of using a variety of things like extracts, fresh fruit, plain chocolate powder and sweetener of choice. I also use it to make sauce or spreads like for fish sandwiches by adding spices to my taste such as a dill blend.
My question is: If I make my smoothies using Greek yogurt and freeze it in portions for later use… does this harm the bacteria in it?
Still craving it and can make my smoothies to be a complete meal by adding protein powder and some other select ingredients.
Gloria,
So glad to hear that your cravings for yogurt have brought you excellent health benefits to you as well! According to Stony Field Farm’s website, freezing yogurt will kill some of the bacteria, but not all. What you need to careful not to do is heat the yogurt above 120 degrees, which will kill the bacteria.
Check out the info on their website by clicking on the link below:
http://www.stonyfield.com/contact_us/faqs/index.jsp
Thanks for the reply and the information… I did not find that on their website… missed it somehow…
Smoothies here I come…
I have been making smoothies now for 3 to 4 weeks with plain yogurt and blueberries and half banana to add sweetness. I have notice my blood sugar reading are down. Could it be that this is working for me.
Hi, I am Lorraine
I am lactose intolerance and diabetic 2 which yogurt do I use.
please, what are the recipe for makin yurgot.thanks fiiko bonny afiik5519@gmail.com
Lorraine,
Organic soy yogurt may be a good alternative if you are lactose intolerant.
I’d love info on making yogurt as well.
Thanks
kjacobs@epbfi.com
I’m sorry but I disagree on anything SOY! It contains estrogen compounds and has been found to very unhealthy for many reasons. See: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/13/soy-controversy-and-health-effects.aspx
for a very good exposition of the problems of soy.
Karen and Fiiko,
You can find our method of making yogurt on My Healing Kitchen by clicking on this link:
http://myhealingkitchen.com/healing-products/better-yogurt-than-you-could-ever-buy/
Enjoy!
JH
Hi, Sister Mary… I don’t know why Dr. Mercola is so dead against soy. In limited quantities, soy is a truly a health food. In Japan, where soy is a regular part of the diet, cancer rates are extremely low. The key is to limit consumption to about two ounces per day. In Asia, soy foods are eaten as a condiment. I particulary recommend soy foods that have been fermented, such as tempe. The phytoestrogens you feel are so “unhealthy” are just the opposite. They are weaker than your body’s own estrogen and occupy estrogen-receptor sites on cells so that stronger estogens and estrogen-like chemicals can’t attach. In this way, phytoestrogens are protective against estrogen-driven cancers (such as pbreast and prostate). However, if you have cancer and are on treatment, consult your physcian first. JH
Here – Here Douglass;
http://www.doctorsaredangerous
Go to this website and read up on SOY
OR/Hippocrates health centre – Elaine Hollingsworth
You will be amazed at what a terrible thing soy is
Jim Healthy
yes soy is eaten in Japan, but only after many many years of fermentation, so that it is not toxic,
May I suggest the following website:
http://www.doctorsaredangerous
to you, and also
Elaine Hollingsworth’s 11th edition book called
Take control of your health (and escape the sickness industry)
Dear Dr Ripich
I was looking to get Magnesium
and they have here or Manesium citrate or Mgnesium with calcium and vitamin C. Is it good for lovering my blood sugar? Thanks
Dear Imrich,
A new study conducted in Brazil on patients with Type 2 diabetes has found that patients who consume more magnesium have lower blood sugar levels after their meals. The benefits of magnesium can be obtained by supplementation in pill form or by eating magnesium-rich foods. Additionally, epidemiological studies show that in countries with adequate magnesium intake, rates of diabetes are low—indicating that magnesium provides significant protection from developing the disease.
For most Americans, a magnesium supplement of 200-500 milligrams a day is considered beneficial. (People with liver or kidney problems should consult their doctor before starting supplements.) The best supplements to aim for are the brands that contain magnesium gluconate and/or chelated magnesium. Choose products that also include aspartate, malate, or glycinate (these amino acids aid in the absorption of the mineral). Warning: Magnesium can loosen stools if you take too much, so reduce dosage if this becomes a problem.
Thanks so much for sharing your question with me.
Let me know if you have any other questions, I’d be happy to help.
Jim H.
I love yogurt and am so pleased I can still have it! I’ve just been diagnosed as insulin resistant and am just learning about all the ways I can keep myself healthy. Thanks for this site Jim, I am going to link to it!
Liza > try making yogurt cheese to use as a vegetable dip or on whole grain bread ie Ezekiel Sprouted grains. Just take a funnel or a coffee filter section of an old coffee maker and place a clean filter in it, suspend over a bowl. Put a container full of good non sugared yogurt in the filter and stored covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. IT becomes thick like cream cheese.
henry how do you make your Greek Yogart, do you have a recipe for it, if so would you please send it. Thank You Carol
I am type 2 diabetic for 10 or more years. I take Levimir and metformin daily the diabetics is still not controlled..I have shortness of breath,losing weith thru weight watchers. How can you help me?
How about Lecithin..I’ve taken that for years..it’s good for the brain, arteries, nerve ends and breaking down the bad chlostral in the blood stream..weight loss,you name it..now you are telling me soy is bad.
Dear Naomi,
Thank you for your note. You and others in your situation are the reason I published The 30-Day Diabetes Cure. http://30daydiabetescure.com/ I encourage you to order it, and follow the 30-day plan. Please also consult with your doctor ASAP about your symptoms, especially the shortness of breath.
Please come back and let us know how you’re doing.
Jim H.
I live in Calif. The yogurt in Calif is by what brand.I live in Modesto Ca,thanks
I believe there is a company called the ‘California Yogurt Company.’