My entire family is strongly intolerant to lactose. We can not consume a lot of milk products without getting sick. It was very interesting to read Jason’s post on lactose intolerance. I became lactose intolerant in high school and since then I have to be really careful of what I eat. Luckily, I could enjoy yogurt without being in pain. Yogurts contain live bacteria usually L. acidophilus that could produce lactase to digest the lactose. Yogurt is good for the body for many reasons. First it provides a source of proteins and calcium for people like me who can not get calcium from milk. Calcium inhibits the excess growth of cells in the colon lining reducing the risk of colon cancers. These commensal bacteria also prevent harmful bacteria from adhering to the colon where they could cause serious health problems. The lactic acid in the yogurt also promotes the absorption of calcium and B vitamins.
Other benefits of yogurts include its ability to decrease yeast infection. My family doctor also advised me to eat yogurt during and after taking antibiotics because antibiotics not only kill the harmful bacteria but many of the good ones that line the colon. Because the contents of the colons are constantly changing as materials are being flushed out of our system, it is important to eat yogurts every day or at the very least every other day to replenish the population of the good bacteria.
I thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s posts on the food unit. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn and view many topics from different perspectives.
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I love yogurt and I have always heard it is very healthy. I was aware of the benefits of calcium for bones but never knew it was beneficial for the colon. On a separate note, I also enjoyed the food chemistry unit. The unit as a whole was very informative and interactive. It seems that everyone has contributed in some way to the food unit. I hope green chemistry follows the same path!
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