SE4 - Yogurt

SE4: Think of a recent meal that you’ve eaten. Identify one ingredient from that meal that defined the meal or otherwise interests you. Using at least two sources, and at least one of them academic, describe the history and / or production of that ingredient. What did you learn through your research? How might that knowledge affect your relationship with that food?

             

Not to long ago I was having breakfast with some of my friends at a local breakfast restaurant. Having eaten many eggs, toast, and other more mundane breakfast foods, I decided to switch up my meal choice for something that I don’t usually eat, yogurt. As I placed my order, one of my friends made a feeble attempt to crack a joke and blurted, “ Oh look here, Joel is trying to eat healthy now, he sure does need it!” My friend’s joke was not very amusing, but it did get me thinking about the reason that people associated a healthy meal with yogurt. I had a little knowledge about probiotics and how they were supposedly healthy, but I didn’t know much about how yogurt was actually made and what it was about the bacteria in yogurt that promoted certain health benefits.

After contemplating my thoughts for a few minutes I received my yogurt and oatmeal, which was topped off with bits of strawberry and whole blueberries. The entire meal looked very nice and simple, which gave it a kind of eloquence I couldn’t quite put my finger one. The oatmeal and fruits brought color and life into the meal, but the solid, white color of the yogurt helped balance the whole scheme of the meal. I took my first bite and notices that the flavor of the yogurt was slightly bitter and acidic, making my taste buds tingle and sending a jolt through my mouth. The yogurt was definitely at the heart of the flavor in the bite because it incorporated the flavor of the fruit yet maintained a dominant taste as I continued to eat the meal.

Yogurt as a whole is rather a simple food, being the natural result of fermented dairy. Some of the earliest records of the use of yogurt date back to Mesopotamian times (~5000 BCE), when cattle were being domesticated (What is Yogurt, 1). Part of the reason that yogurt was actually a very accommodating food was because it would last longer than regular dairy. The reason for this is because of fermentation, in which, “Certain types of bacteria act on the lactose (milk sugar) that is in milk, and produce lactic acid. The lactic acid lowers the pH of the milk, and causes the milk protein to coagulate and make a firm mass (What is Yogurt, 2). The byproduct, lactic acid, would help lower the pH of the dairy thus creating an acidic environment in that is inhospitable to destructive bacteria. Nowadays, yogurt manufacturing has become a lot more streamlined, but the same basic process of fermentation is still at the core of its production. The only difference n in today’s yogurt production is that milk is pasteurized and homogenized with machine in order to create an even consistency so that the end product is smoother and creamier. And instead of letting the milk ferment at a natural pace, commercial producers will add a specific fermentation culture to aid the fermentation process (Watson, 1-2).

Yogurt’s fermentation process may help create is flavor and consistency, but the end result would be nothing without the bacterial cultures that help start this process.

A lot of the stated health benefits of yogurt actually are a result of human ingestion of said bacterial cultures. “In the United States, these lactic acid–producing bacteria

(LAB) include Lactobacillus and Streptococcus species (Adolfsson et al. 1).” Part of the nutritional value of yogurt already comes from the milk, which contains sources of B vitamins, proteins, and other minerals, but the consumption of these probiotic organisms is where most of the health benefits are obtained. Based on research by Parvez et al (2006), they were able to report results stating that:

Some of the beneficial effects of lactic acid bacteria consumption include: (i) improving intestinal tract health; (ii) enhancing the immune system, synthesizing and enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients; (iii) reducing symptoms of lactose intolerance, decreasing the prevalence of allergy in susceptible individuals; and (iv) reducing risk of certain cancers.

Not only does yogurt have the nutritional benefits of dairy, but it also contains “healthy” bacteria that actually promote health benefits to the person that consumes them. This symbiotic relations ship is really at the core of why yogurt consumption can lead to a healthier lifestyle.

            Having learned a little about the history, making, and health benefits of yogurt, I have come to see just how impressive it is as a food. It was really interesting to learn more about the health benefits of probiotics specifically because it was just something that I had always heard about but never really looked into. However, as much as I will continue to eat yogurt, I will want to be mindful of how much I eat since consuming a lot of dairy also does have is negative side. These health risks include arthritis problems, heart problems, high calcium, and high cholesterol. All in all, I do believe that my relationship with yogurt has gotten a little stronger because I know more about its effects on my body as well as the negative and positive benefits of its consumption.

Works Cited

Adolfsson, Oskar, Simin N. Meydani, and Robert M. Russell. "Yogurt and Gut Function." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80.2 (2004): 245-56.

No Author. "What Is Yogurt?" Cultures for Health: Yogurt Starter, Sourdough Starter, Kombucha, Kefir Grains, Cheese Making and More. N.p., 2010. Web.

Parvez, S., K. A. Malik, S. A. Kang, and H. Y. Kim. "Probiotics and Their Fermented Food Products Are Beneficial for Health." Journal of Applied Microbiology 100.6 (2006): 1171-1185. Print.

Watson, John. "Yoghurt: Manufatoring - Making - Production." Watson Dairy Consulting, 2013. Web.